Together
by AllTheCliches
Summary: My collection of stories for Dianakko week 2017 9/17-9/23! Hopefully will have each day's prompt ready by the prompt date
1. Chapter 1

**Day 1: Stars/Astrology**

* * *

Diana rarely found herself overwhelmed, especially when it came to school.

On the rare occasions she did though, Diana tended to tackle the problem head on.

Often times it worked, and she came out on top.

The times it didn't work though…

Diana stubbornly glared at a book about the history of healing magic she had been reading for a research project.

Due to some rather unforeseen circumstances which forced her to return to her manor for most of the week, she was nowhere near as accomplished as she hoped to be. She resolved that, the moment she arrived in Luna Nova, she would make up for lost time.

She arrived in the morning and had since been reading various resources for research, making considerable progress. However, after hours of non-stop reading and research, her vision had begun to grow weary, and the words on the tomes had become all but unintelligible.

She peeked at her large collection of notes. They started off neat, detailed, and organized… and while they were still objectively good notes, the quality had dropped far below her usual standards.

Diana sighed.

She had considered taking a break… but every time she tried, she started worrying about the amount of work she still had left to do.

But perhaps… she could rest her head for just a momen-

"Diana?"

Diana looked up and saw Akko looking down on her, worry written all over the brunette's face.

"A-Akko?" Diana mumbled, "What are you doing here? Curfew must have passed a while ago."

"I could say the same to you!" Akko countered. "The first time I see you all week, and you look horrible. How long have you been here?"

"Since I arrived at 6 a.m." Diana admitted, bracing herself for the fierce scolding she knew would come from her fiery girlfriend.

"Six a- SIX AM?! DIANA! IT'S PAST MIDNIGHT!"

"… It is past midnight?" Diana blinked. "Akko, what are you doing out? Curfew must have passed at least an hour ag-"

"Oh no. Nononono, you're not changing the subject like that. You are going to get up, pack up your notes, and go to your room to sleep." Akko scolded.

"Akko…" Diana began, "I doubt I would be able to get even an hour's worth of restful sleep... not with," Diana gestured toward her notes, "all this work on my mind."

"Well, I've always helped you sleep when you couldn't right?" Akko turned her head.

Diana pursed her lips.

"I doubt even you could keep my mind off of this Akko… It has been bothering me all week while I was at my manor. Now that I am back in Luna Nova, everything reminds me about it."

"Oho, I take that as a challenge then." Akko smiled. "Operation: Give Diana a Peaceful Night's Rest. Start!"

Diana rolled her eyes at Akko's ridiculous naming sense.

"And what exactly do you propose to do?"

Akko hummed in thought, as she put all of Diana's notes away into a bag, knowing Diana was far too tired to stop her.

Once Akko got an idea, her eyes brightened.

"Oh! Why don't I show you where I was going tonight?"

"… Excuse me?" Diana cocked a brow.

"Yeah, it'll be so great!" Akko cheered, grabbing Diana's arm and urging her to get up. "I've been looking for a good enough excuse to bring you there, and it'll give you a chance to get away from your work and relax!"

"I apologize Akko," Diana struggled tiredly against Akko's pull, "but I must continue working… and you should not be outside of your dorm. Now… if you could please put my notes back on the tabl-"

"Nope!" Akko interrupted.

"Wha-"

"Nope, you're not staying here." Akko challenged. "I'm pretty sure you can stop working for now. Besides, you look way too tired to keep working on… whatever _this_ is, and you're definitely too tired to argue with me long enough for me to give up. You know I'm going to get you out of here one way or another."

Diana sighed. Akko did have a point. The words on that tome Akko had just packed into her bag were becoming nothing more than scribbles.

Even more importantly, Diana knew Akko was right about how this would all inevitably turn out.

One of the things Diana loved about Akko _was_ the girl's indomitable will when faced with anything that stopped her from getting whatever it was she wanted after all, and Diana knew she had nowhere near the fight nor the energy to even try to go against her.

Besides, there was always the slight chance that whatever Akko had planned could possibly help her forget her troubles just long enough for a good night's sleep.

If anyone could do so, it'd be Akko.

"Fine Akko, take me to wherever."

Akko beamed, knowing she'd won.

The bright smile Akko sent Diana relieved her of a bit of stress she had built up, allowing her to respond with a smile of her own.

"Alright! You're not going to regret it. Now come with me… Or better yeeeeet~"

"A-Akko?!" Diana yelped as Akko lifted her out of her chair and then immediately ran out into the hallway. "What do you think you are doing?!"

"Carrying you!" Akko laughed. "You look exhausted."

"P-Put me down this instant!" Diana scolded, her cheeks warming from the rather compromising position. "I can walk just fine."

"Neveeeer!" Akko exclaimed as she ran towards the exit of the school.

"Akko!" Diana yelled angrily, sending a glare Akko's way.

"… Fiiine." Akko pouted before slowly bringing Diana back down onto her feet. "One misstep though, and it's back to being carried."

Diana narrowed her eyes at Akko but agreed. She may have been tired, but she wasn't that tired.

* * *

After almost immediately tripping on a blank sheet of paper that had fallen out of her bag, Diana had been carried and plopped onto Akko's broom.

As the two girls flew through the sky, Diana couldn't help but wonder about where Akko was taking her. She would be lying if she said she wasn't curious about where her girlfriend would be sneaking off to in the middle of the night…

Though seeing as Akko was taking her to it, it at least couldn't have been all that bad.

Diana briefly considered that her girlfriend had found some magical creature's infant and was trying to take care of it… but she quickly shook that thought away.

From what Akko said, she had been doing this for quite a while, and she definitely would have already let it slip that she had been taking care of such a thing.

Knowing her girlfriend, Diana expected that wherever she was taken would be a rather extraordinary place…

So when the two of them landed in some field just a ways away from the school, Diana found herself immensely confused. She searched around, looking for any hint as to why Akko had wanted to bring her here, but found nothing.

"Akko… where is thi-" Diana began to speak, but was cut off by a pull against her hand.

"Come on Diana!" Akko smiled, "Before I carry you again!"

"Fine." Diana surrendered, following Akko's pull.

"Good, good~" Akko sang, before taking seat.

Diana looked down at her girlfriend, eyes narrowed as she tried to figure out exactly the purpose of all of this was.

"Well, don't just stand there." Akko said, patting on the ground next to her. "Sit down! I won't bite… unless you want me to." Akko waggled her eyebrows.

Diana rolled her tired eyes but hesitantly knelt on the spot Akko had offered her. "Now would you care to explain what it is we are doing here?"

"Sure." Akko shrugged. "Look up."

"Up?"

"Yup! Look up!"

Diana looked at her girlfriend suspiciously, before turning her head upwards.

 _What could possibly be so imp-_

The moment Diana looked up at the sky, her mind stopped, nothing registering beyond the sheer awe she felt looking up at the night sky.

She'd seen clear nights before. She'd seen nights when the all the stars glimmered and twinkled in a way that demanded attention.

What she saw here in this moment, however, was leagues beyond anything she'd seen before. It was almost as if dark sky was adorned with the very essence of magic.

Stardust painted the black canvas of the night sky with luminescent blues and purples. Stars glittered the dark areas surrounding these splashes of color, shining more brilliantly than Diana had ever seen before.

"… Wow" Diana exhaled, her eyes shimmering under the intense starlight.

Akko chuckled, looking at her girlfriend stare up in the sky in wonder.

"Right? I remember when Professor Ursula first showed me this place… I couldn't look away either."

When she didn't receive any response or answer back, Akko rolled her eyes.

"You know Diana, any more than this, and I'm gonna start getting jealous." Akko joked as she snapped her fingers.

The sudden sound shocked Diana out of stupor, who immediately found herself growing embarrassed by how quickly she was mesmerized by the magnificence of the night sky.

"A-Akko I-"

"Don't worry about it." Akko teased. "It's really nice isn't it?"

Diana slowly drifted into a smile, hearing the earnestness in Akko's voice.

"It is… quite a beautiful sight… but why did you bring me here? Not that I do not appreciate it… this view of the stars was well worth the trip."

"Well… I thought this would be the perfect way to de-stress you." Akko smiled. "Stargazing with your cute girlfriend. Sounds like a great plan doesn't it?"

"… Akko, but why here specifically?" Diana questioned.

"You seemed… really stressed," Akko said, taking hold of Diana's hand as she continued looking up at the stars. "And whenever I'm stressed or need a break late at night, I come here to look at these stars… to just forget about it for a while. It helps a lot on those kind of nights… especially when you're already asleep. I thought this could maybe help you in the same way."

"I see…" Diana took a moment to process what Akko had just told her. "Do you come here… often?"

Akko guffawed, much to Diana's confusion. When Akko peeked an eye open through her laughter and saw her girlfriend's dumbfounded face, she tried to compose herself, settling for an amused and teasing smirk.

"Diana, we're already dating. You don't need to use any pick up lines on me."

Diana flushed upon hearing her totally innocent question misconstrued in such a way.

"You know that is not what I meant! J-Just answer the question Akko!"

"Yeah, yeah." Akko laughed as she watched Diana's cool façade break for a moment. "I was just kidding… But, yeah, I do."

Diana calmed herself before speaking once more.

"Do… you find yourself stressed very often?"

"Oh, no. No no no no no." Akko frantically denied; she didn't mean to make Diana worried. She sent her girlfriend a reassuring smile before turning back up to the sky. "I come here whenever I want to think too. Or for any other reason really. Sometimes just to talk to the stars about my day."

"You… talk to the stars?" Diana blinked. "You know you can speak to me if you have any problems right?"

"I know that, but… just, look over there." Akko pointed up to the sky.

Diana squinted as she followed her girlfriend's finger. Her eyes widened when she saw seven stars, all somehow shining more brightly and more pronounced than the surrounding stars.

"The Big Dipper?"

"Yup! You remember… That's where the Shiny Rod is now. I like to come here and talk to it sometimes." Akko smiled, focused on the seven stars off in the distance.

"You come here to speak to the Shiny Rod?"

"Yup. I talk to it about my day… or whatever's on my mind really. It probably can't hear me, but I like to think we're still connected in some way."

"I see…"

Akko looked away from the stars to look straight at Diana, tapping the blonde's arm so that their eyes could meet.

"You're going to talk to the Shiny Rod."

Diana blinked slowly. "Excuse me? I am going to what?"

"Talk to the Shiny Rod. We used the last spell together, I bet you anything that if I'm connected to it, you are too."

"Akko, I don't see how this wou-"

"If you're shy, I'll start." Akko smiled. "Hey Shiny Rod! It's been a while hasn't it? Look! It's Diana." Akko gestured to the girl next to her. "… Come on Diana, say hi."

"Akko I-"

"Please Diana?" Akko pleaded.

Diana tensed up before looking up at the constellation.

"Hello Shiny Rod…" Diana shyly mumbled.

"Yay~" Akko grinned, though her expression softened when she saw the discomfort on her girlfriend's face. "Though I guess you're not that comfortable talking to it… I guess that's fine."

Diana breathed out with relief.

"So how do you feel about making wishes on stars?" Akko asked curiously.

"Wishes, Akko?" Diana asked curiously.

"Yeah, you know what they say: making a wish upon a star helps your dreams come true."

"You… are aware that is a simple fairy tale right?"

Akko laughed.

"Fairy tale or not, all the wishes I've asked for have come true! After all, I'm not wishing on just any star, I'm wishing on the Shiny Rod… and if any star's making a wish come true, it's those ones."

Diana cocked a brow.

"All of the wishes you've asked for?"

"Yup! Though from what I can tell, the wishes have to come from my heart… I guess kind of like how using the rod was like before." Akko said as she stared up at the stars.

Curiosity piqued, Diana looked at Akko.

"What wishes have you asked for that have come true?"

Diana observed Akko intently. Her eyes focused in as she saw Akko nibble on her lower lip, her face beginning to redden. The heiress could also feel the pulse in Akko's hand beginning to race.

"Well uh… do I have to?" Akko quietly asked.

"I am sure hearing it would make me feel better." Diana teased, choosing to get a little payback for the earlier carryings Akko had subjected her to.

"… Fine." Akko grumbled, letting out a quiet "That's so unfair" under her breath. "I just… uh… well do you remember two months ago when I first asked if you wanted to go on a date?"

Diana smiled at the memory, remembering Akko's adorable effort to ask her to a walk through the town coupled with lunch.

"Of course I do Akko. I still have the rose you catapulted at me standing in a vase full of spring water on my desk."

"Yeah well… I kind of wished that all the preparations went smoothly… since everything was really complicated and one wrong thing could have been a horrible disaster."

"You know, Professor Finnelan would argue that the entire occurrence was a horrible disaster, considering it just happened to affect her class and only her class." Diana added.

"Well, the rose got to you _and_ you said yes… so I say it was a complete success!" Akko beamed.

"Hm… you said you wished that your preparations would work?"

"Yep."

"… Why not wish that I would say yes?" Diana pondered. "Not that you needed any help in that sense."

"Because that's _your_ answer Diana." Akko said nonchalantly. "If you say yes, I want it to be because that's how you feel, not because of some wish I made. "

"I see… have you made any other wishes?"

"Well… I made a wish hoping that the date we went on where I kissed you for the first time would go well. And that definitely happened." Akko grinned. "Oh, and I also wished that you would be able to come with me here one of these nights and ta-da~ here you are!"

Diana shook her head in amusement, her heart swelling from hearing each of Akko's innocent wishes.

 _Akko is just too precious_.

"I know I am." Akko giggled. "Thanks for telling me though."

Diana blinked.

"D-did I say that out loud?"

"Mmhm." Akko hummed. "I guess you're more tired than I thought… Blurting things without thinking is my job!" Akko clung onto her girlfriend's arm.

It was Diana's turn to giggle now, a beautifully melodic sound that warmed Akko's heart.

"Perhaps I am just a bit tired." Diana agreed, scooting in closer into the bubbly girl's hold.

"You think you'll be able to sleep well tonight?" Akko asked.

Diana pondered. "I am not quite sure…"

"Well, if you don't mind then, I wanna talk to the Shiny Rod about my day."

Diana smiled. "Well don't let me stop you."

"I hope you're paying attention too~" Akko sang, hugging Diana's arm even more tightly.

Diana chuckled, "I would not dream of doing otherwise"

"Great! Now… where should I begin… Oh! Shiny Rod, you remember Sucy right? Well… Sucy woke me up in the _worst_ way today…"

Diana rested her head on Akko's shoulder as she listened to the brunette recount everything that happened to her today.

She listened intently to hear about everything that she had missed.

She heard Akko talk and whine about all the crazy experiments her roommate put her through… Apparently at one point, that poison loving roommate of hers turned her ponytail into a flower that changed species to reflect the mood she felt.

Diana pouted, wishing she could have seen that. It probably would have been really cute, much like it was back when they talked to each other for the first time.

She listened to Akko whine about how much work the professors had assigned… something Diana was experiencing firsthand.

Before she could dwell on that thought for much longer, Diana felt one of Akko's arm release her own arm, only to wrap itself around the heiress, leaving her only with thoughts about how wonderfully warm Akko was and how much she loved the brunette doing so much to help her sleep.

She then listened to Akko speak at length about how much progress she'd been making under Professor Ursula's tutelage since the Shiny Rod had joined its place in the stars. Diana found herself taking mental notes as Akko talked about all the show stopping spells she was working on.

She knew she would be the first person Akko showed these to once she got them right, and Diana was beyond excited to see just what their idol was teaching the bubbly brunette.

The longer Diana listened to Akko's story, the more she found herself growing captivated by it, much like a child being told their favorite bed time story. In fact, the more she listened to Akko speak about her day, the more difficult it became to keep her eyes open.

Diana wondered just how Akko always managed to do it. How, without fail, Akko would find a way to make Diana feel better whenever she needed some sort of pick me up.

Diana struggled to look up at the sky one more time, so that she could silently thank whatever force it was that brought the both of them together.

She then happened a glance at the Big Dipper and smiled softly.

As each word Akko spoke continued to soothe and relax Diana, she found herself slowly drifting off to sleep, despite herself.

She tried her best to fight off the ever growing urge to sleep, not because of some desire to work on a project, but because she just did not want this time with Akko to end.

However, Akko's words were just too soothing, almost becoming Diana's own personal lullaby.

Realizing she was fighting a losing battle, she succumbed to her weary mind and allowed herself to give in to the sweet pull of sleep, guided by the sweet sound of her girlfriend's voice.

And as Diana drifted off, she had one thought in her mind, a wish she held with all her heart.

 _I sincerely hope that I do not wake up tomorrow without her._

When Akko felt Diana slump, falling onto her lap, she looked down at the heiress and smiled.

"That sure took long enough, I was running out of things to say." Akko mumbled softly as she brushed Diana's cheek with her thumb. "See, what'd I tell you Shiny Rod? She just dropped to sleep listening to me talk. She really needs to relax more, doesn't she?"

Akko listened to the soft whistle of Diana's breath, looked at the steady rise and fall of the heiress's shoulder.

She looked up to the sky and saw the stars of the Big Dipper glowing yellow for just a second. She sent an appreciative smile towards the constellation.

"Thanks Shiny Rod. I knew I could count on you to help."

After one last appreciative glance, Akko turned to the slightly more important sight of her girlfriend sleeping on her lap.

It honestly made her feel extremely giddy seeing Diana asleep like this. The girl's usually neat blonde hair was sprawled out on the grass and across her lap. There also wasn't any sign of tension on her perfect face.

"Operation: Give Diana a Peaceful Night's Rest is almost complete." Akko mumbled. "Only two more things left to do."

Carefully, Akko lifted Diana onto her back, trying desperately to make sure she did not wake the heiress up.

Once she managed to prop her girlfriend onto her back, Akko grabbed her broom and mounted it.

Akko looked back on her girlfriend, whose head was now perched onto her shoulder.

"I really hope you'd be okay if I take you on more of these later." Akko whispered as she felt soft breaths ghosting the nape of her neck, sending goose bumps up her arm. "It was really nice sharing this with you." Then she snuck a peek up at the Big Dipper, which was beginning to glow green. "And no Shiny Rod, that isn't a wish or anything, so please don't do anything about that. I want that to be Diana's decision alone."

When Akko finished her sentence, the Big Dipper turned back to glowing its bright white.

"Good… now…" Akko turned her attention back to Diana, who was now nuzzling against Akko's shoulder, sending warm tingles and flutters to her heart. "Oh my gosh, you are way too cute."

Akko silently thanked everything that helped the two of them get together.

No wonder she had terrible, terrible luck. In between being the one chosen by the Shiny Rod _and_ being the girlfriend of the amazing Diana Cavendish, Akko was pretty sure that having any more luck would be considered a crime against nature.

With Diana peacefully sleeping against her as they soared through the quiet night sky, there was only one more thing left to do.

Akko said her farewells to the Shiny Rod as she flew Diana back to her dorm. She then carefully rested the heiress onto her large bed.

After that, Akko slipped into Diana's bed and wrapped her arms around the blonde, ensuring that, if the heiress woke up in the middle of the night, she would be unable to leave. Akko grinned at how perfect the ending part of her plan was.

She got to keep Diana in bed _and_ have her to herself for the night.

One last time, the stars of the Big Dipper glowed yellow as Diana snuggled closer to her girlfriend in her sleep.

When Diana woke up the next morning, her heart skipped as she found herself wrapped in warmth and entranced by the sight in front of her.

Akko was fast asleep. Her mouth was wide open and there was just a tiny trail of drool beginning to drip off from the side of her mouth.

She was also snoring rather loudly, each snore ending with just the smallest ringing of her voice.

Diana failed to fight back the stupidest grin on her face, as she was met with the heart-warming, squeak inducing realization that Akko had slept together with her last night. Judging by the heiress's currently inability to move, it seemed her girlfriend also intended to keep her there until she awoke.

With a content sigh, Diana closed her eyes again and moved in closer to Akko… work could wait.

There was someone far more important right now.

With that thought, Diana made sure to close her eyes and send up a silent thought of gratitude to the Shiny Rod for granting her wish.

* * *

 **I died but Dianakko week was calling, so I had to try right? #Shiny Rod is the best wishing star.**

 **Time to hope I remember what I'm doing! (As of now I have all but two days ready, and out of order so wish me luck so hopefully I can finish those prompts as well.)**

 **Anyway, thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed~**


	2. Chapter 2

**Day 2: First Date/Casual Date**

* * *

"Akkooo! Your father and I are going out for the rest of the day. There's food in the fridge and some money on the table if you and Diana get hungry."

"Alright mom! Have fun and see you tomorrow!"

"You and Diana have fun too! But not too much fun~"

"Moooooooooom!"

Diana chuckled as she heard the exchange happen just outside Akko's room.

It had been about a week since Luna Nova's school year ended, and Akko had offered, or begged rather, to have Diana spend the vacation with her.

Akko tried to play it off as wanting Diana to help her practice magic while they were away from school… but she quickly revealed she just didn't want to be away from her girlfriend the second Diana pretended to consider being even slightly hesitant about the idea.

With a confession like that, Diana couldn't find it in herself to even pretend like she wasn't ecstatic about the invitation. Especially considering she was similarly dreading the idea of spending even one day without Akko's bright and cheery smile… not that she would ever admit that out loud.

She _would_ admit to being rather nervous about meeting Akko's parents for the first time though, what with the language barrier, culture barrier… and the typical nervousness that came with meeting your girlfriend's parents for the first time.

Akko was a wonderful girl who deserved the absolute best, and she absolutely shuddered at the idea that Akko's parents would think that she wasn't.

It was a fear that Akko assured was, in her words, "nothing to worry about"… and that Diana, upon meeting Mr. and Mrs. Kagari, quickly realized was entirely unsubstantiated.

Both of Akko's parents were absolutely lovely people, which would make sense considering their lovely daughter.

Rather than judge Diana's character, they were both absolutely dedicated to making sure Diana knew exactly what she was getting into, much to Akko's despair and embarrassment.

They showed Diana every picture of Akko they had.

Every.

Single.

One.

At some point, in between Diana fighting back an undignified squeak at the next picture of a four year old Akko running around in Shiny Chariot pajamas and Mrs. Kagari telling a story of how Akko cried tears of joy when she found out Shiny Chariot would be having a show in Japan, Akko's face had found itself permanently colored like a strawberry.

Beyond embarrassed, Akko finally got up and carried Diana away from Mrs. Kagari, much to the heiress's protests. She then pulled Diana aside and had her swear that she'd never utter a word about those pictures or her mother's embarrassing stories ever again.

Reluctantly Diana agreed... though she did leave a note for Mrs. Kagari asking her to send copies of those pictures sometime in the future. They were stupidly adorable, and Diana needed to have them as a souvenir.

Akko's dad did pull Diana away to have a talk with her though.

Thanks to a translation spell Professor Ursula had taught her in preparation for today, she was able to gather that he was making sure that she was absolutely serious about dating Akko. Diana didn't mind though. The concern was absolutely understandable given the logistics of their relationship… Akko living thousands of miles away and Diana's status an heiress to a noble witch family in England.

While those certainly would be obstacles, Diana knew it was something the both of them could work out, and she said as much. She said that she was completely serious about Akko, wishing for nothing more than the brunette's complete happiness, and she promised that she would do whatever she could to ensure their lasting happiness.

Mr. Kagari smiled at the answer and formally welcomed Diana to their home.

And now, a week later, Diana had been treated just like another member of the Kagari family.

It was really rather nice.

They even trusted the two of them to be together, alone, in the house.

Though, looking around Akko's room, Diana couldn't help but wonder if they just knew she would be unbelievably awkward about doing anything even remotely inappropriate in here.

Akko's walls were plastered with Shiny Chariot posters, her room filled with plush dolls and toys. In fact, it appeared the card she had given Akko those months ago was the literal last piece to completing a collection of every official piece of Shiny Chariot merchandise that has ever been produced.

As much as she still admired Shiny Chariot and her magic, Diana wasn't quite sure how comfortable she was doing anything romantic with her professor's eyes surrounding them, poster form or not.

"Diana, I'm coming in~" Akko called out from behind her door. "Are you decent?"

Diana rolled her eyes.

"Of course I am, Akko." Diana answered, taking one more look over the over-sized Shiny Chariot T-shirt Akko had lent her and light blue cotton pajama pants.

"Mkay! Then here I come!" Akko opened the door and jumped into her room. She beamed as she looked at her girlfriend kneeling on her bed.

"Did we have to wear matching house clothes Akko?" Diana questioned, raising a brow at Akko's Shiny Chariot t-shirt and short red shorts.

"Of course! You look super cute in it, and I think _we_ look cute like this." Akko sang, her heart warming at the simple thought and sight of her and Diana wearing matching outfits.

"I-I see…" Diana mumbled, her face reddening as Akko complimented her.

"Anywaaaay, my parents are having a date night. Wanna have one too?"

"I suppose that would be nice." Diana smiled. "What should we do?"

"Weeeeeell" Akko drawled, "I was thinkiiiing…"

Diana watched as Akko began crawling on her bed towards her, a playful look in those red eyes and a smirk on her adorable face.

"A-Akko what are y-you doing?" Diana stammered, her cheeks continuing to grow rosy as Akko slowly approached her.

Her heart began to pound against her chest as Akko began to close in on her. Her blue eyes focused in on Akko's crimson eyes as Akko's face inched closer to hers.

When those crimson orbs became the only things she could see, when Diana felt Akko's arms at her side, and as her heart began to beat loud enough to drown out all other sounds, Diana shut her eyes and waited for whatever it was Akko had planned.

It appeared that having their professor's eyes staring down at them from around the room had far less influence than she had expec-

"Got it!" Akko cheered loudly as she bounced on her ned.

Diana eyes snapped open to see Akko clutching a pillow that used to be on the heiress's side of the bed.

"Akko what are you doi-"

"Pillow fort!"

Diana blinked, the heat in her face quickly disappearing, confusion and just the slightest bit of disappointment quickly taking embarrassment's place.

"Come again?"

"A pillow fort!" Akko smiled. "I thought we could start out our date by making a pillow fort."

"A pillow… fort?"

"Yup!" Akko grinned. "Now come on and help me!"

Diana watched skeptically as Akko began to take all of the pillows in her room and placed them in the middle of her room.

"Akko… I am rather unsure of this...?" Diana muttered, curiously observing the pile of pillows Akko was forming.

"C'mon! It's fun." Akko pouted. "After all, when was the last time _you_ made a pillow fort?"

"I do not believe I ever have."

Akko gasped. "Then you _have_ to help me! I can't let my girlfriend go on without knowing the joys of a pillow fort!"

Diana turned to sit on the edge of Akko's bed.

"I believe it would be best if I were to sit and observe."

"Come oooon," Akko pleaded, "It'll be a lot of fun! And then we can do something else if you're not having fun... so pleeease?"

Diana looked at the small pile of pillows behind Akko. Truthfully she didn't quite understand what Akko wanted to do with all of them. It didn't exactly seem like they'd be able to make anything remotely resembling a fort… at least not on their own.

Then she looked back at Akko, who was looking at her with wide, round puppy dog eyes, and she knew she couldn't say no.

"If I were to help, how would one go about building a… 'pillow fort'?" Diana asked.

Akko eyes quickly brightened. She beamed at her girlfriend, knowing she was beginning to come around.

"Well, usually we'd use something like a couch or a chair to hold up some pillows and something like a blanket to cover the top. Then we fill the inside with more pillows, blankets, or anything really, as long as it makes the inside super soft and comfy!" Akko said happily.

"So… the structure itself is not made with pillows?" Diana questioned.

"Well…" Akko pondered, "They can be, but I wanted to make a really big one! Every time I tried to make something like that with only pillows, the whole thing fell apart…"

"Is that so..." Diana trailed off, looking back to the pile in the middle of the room. "And I assume after we make this… 'pillow fort', we are to stay in it?"

"Yup! And we can do whateeeever we want~" Akko sang.

Diana found that that did sound rather nice. Though, if she were to stay in something like this, she'd much prefer it if the _whole_ thing was made with pillows, so that if they were to move around, as was bound to happen considering her wonderful choice of company, there would be no risk of hitting their heads on something solid, like one of many metal chairs.

That being said… Diana could also see why they would need such a thing. Pillows weren't exactly the most stable building block. Support would be rather important...

Suddenly an idea struck her.

"Akko… when was the last time you built one of these?"

"Hm… I haven't built one in years. I was hoping to correct that mistake with you. I know we can make something amazing together!" Akko said as she scooted closer to lean on Diana's arm.

Diana smiled. "While I am unsure how enjoyable such an activity will be… I guess I wouldn't want to disappoint you, my dear."

"So you'll help me?!" Akko cheered.

"I will indeed. However, I will have to decline the use of anything other than cushions, pillows, and blankets."

"Huh? Then how is it all going to stand up? It needs to be big enough so we can both be inside of it."

"I do not suspect that will be a problem," Diana smiled as she reached for her wand sitting in Akko's desk.

* * *

Diana and Akko spent at least a half hour scouring the Kagari household for every pillow, cushion, and blanket that they could gather.

Then Diana spent another ten minutes designing the fort, taking into account every building block, or pillow, they had.

Akko tried telling her it didn't need to be so complicated. All it needed to be was big and soft, but Diana insisted that if she was doing this, she would be making the best pillow fort Akko would ever see. When Akko was about to protest, Diana offered to let Akko coordinate the colors and decorate the exterior, and Akko gleefully accepted.

As the two began building the fort, they quickly realized Akko's room might be a bit too cluttered.

Luckily, there was an open guestroom that was technically supposed to be Diana's to use before Akko had claimed the blonde for her room. The guestroom was about the size of Akko's… but with far less things packed inside of it. Perfect for what the two had planned.

Another hour was spent constructing their creation. While Diana was about to build the whole thing using magic, Akko stopped her, saying it wouldn't be as fun if they _just_ used magic to build it. Diana was rather unsure of the claim, but Akko was adamant that they only use magic if something was about to fall apart.

After much fumbling around, the pillow fort they had planned somehow turned into a multi-colored pillow castle. Sofa cushions and large pillows helped make up the wall of two pillow towers and the main building where she and Akko would stay. The interior was lined entirely with fluffy blankets and fuzzy throw pillows and was lit up by a few sparkles of magic. The entrance was guarded by an army of Akko's Alcor plush dolls.

Diana smiled proudly at their work as she put on the finishing touch, covering the top of the Kagari-Cavendish Castle with a thin blanket held up by the two side towers.

"Ah! A smile! See! I told you building it would be a lot of fun~" Akko grinned as she clung onto Diana's shoulder.

"I suppose that was a little more enjoyable than I suspected it could be." Diana admitted, the blush returning to her cheeks.

Akko rolled her eyes. Diana could be so shy sometimes.

"Sooo how 'bout a movie?" Akko offered, deciding that pressing Diana on this would be pointless. "I could grab my tablet, and we can watch something on Netflix inside of our castle."

"That… sounds lovely." Diana said softly, finding the idea of her and Akko squished together in their newly built creation even more appealing than she had before they built it.

"Great! Wanna make some popcorn too?"

"I suppose I could."

"Yaaay!" Akko hugged Diana with as much force as her arms could muster. "Best. Girlfriend. Ever."

"Akko," Diana laughed, having gotten used to Akko's bone crushing hugs, "It is just popcorn."

"Yeah well… you're still the best girlfriend ever!" Akko cheered, putting the heiress back onto the ground.

"I am pretty sure that is incorrect.. I believe that title goes to one Akko Kagari." Diana corrected, poking her girlfriend's round cheeks.

"Oh stoooop, you're making me blush." Akko smiled bashfully.

"Good, you are far cuter that wa-" Diana began before being so rudely interrupted by a kiss on her nose, which sent heat quickly rushing to her face.

"I guess that makes two of us!"

Diana stared blankly as her embarrassment grew even more evident on her now bright red face.

"Sooo Diana," Akko began, hoping to snap the blonde out of her little trance, "popcorn?"

"O-oh right." Diana muttered with a shake of her head. "Popcorn."

"Yup! I would like to have it made before the movie starts."

"...Akko, we are watching on Netflix." Diana deadpanned.

"I know~"

* * *

"Diana hurry up!" Akko yelled from her room. "The movie's about to start!"

"Akko!" Diana yelled back, being careful not to burn herself from the hot steam that built up in the bag of popcorn. "Just don't press the play button! I swear if you start the movie without me…"

* * *

The two girls were snuggled together in a woolen blanket inside their castle as they watched what was playing on Akko's screen.

Akko had picked a random superhero movie from the Netflix library.

While Diana didn't exactly understand why these sort of films were so popular, she would probably admit that the action scenes were well-done and quite exciting. There was always something good to be said for encouraging heroism. The dialogue also had a bit of humor mixed in, which kept the tense scenes from dragging on... although the movie's romantic sub-plot could have used a bit more time developing.

Or at least that might have been what Diana thought if she was paying any sort of attention to the film.

Diana _did_ try to focus on what was happening, but she quickly found her focus drifting towards her adorable girlfriend, leaning and nuzzling against her shoulder.

It wasn't a knock against the movie. Diana would never dream of holding _this_ against any film. She was sure watching it would have been entertaining… she just happened to find Akko more entertaining in every possible way.

Akko's giggle filled Diana with more laughter than the funniest joke ever could.

The way Akko held Diana's arm close to her heart while nuzzling into her shoulder made the heiress's heart race far faster than even the most well executed action scenes possibly could have.

And lastly, hearing Akko's voice peek just the tiniest bit whenever she yawned combined with the quick kisses Akko sneaked in throughout the film, made Diana's heart melt in a way no romantic sub-plot could ever hope to match.

* * *

"Sooooo," Akko yawned as the credits rolled, "how'd you like the movie?"

Diana could feel her cheeks beginning to warm but did her very best to conceal the fact that she had been far too distracted by her girlfriend to have paid any attention to the movie.

She turned away to try and hide the growing redness on her face.

"It was quite an enjoyable time." It was the truth… it just had absolutely nothing to do with what was on screen.

"Oh really?" Akko smiled coyly, "what was your favorite part?"

"The part where…" Diana racked her brain for any scene she could remember. She tried to think of anything she paid attention to that she could claim was even remotely interesting, but she found herself drawing a blank, apparently having paid even less attention to the movie than she had originally thought, "where…"

"Where your girlfriend yawned before giving you a kiss on your cheek?"

Diana flushed completely, knowing she had been caught red-handed… or red-faced as it were.

"H-how did you-"

"You're really obvious about it Diana." Akko teased. "But that's okay, I wasn't really paying attention to the movie either. Your face was way too pretty."

Diana's face steamed as Akko's focused intently on her. The playful look on the brunette's face made Diana even more self-conscious, which caused her face to burn ever hotter.

"Ooooh you're heating up~" Akko grinned, lying down on Diana's lap. "Just like our first date!"

Diana groaned as she hid her face in her hands.

"Akko, would you please not mention that date? I would rather not be reminded of such… humiliating events."

"Awww why not? You were so jumpy and fidgety~ It was cute!" Akko gushed. "And then you almost fainted cause you overheated after I kissed your cheek."

"Please Akko…" Diana's eye twitched against her palm. "I would greatly appreciate it if you would no longer mention that embarrassment of a date."

"Fine, fine. But if it means anything, that was one of my favorite dates with you." Akko smiled, nuzzling into Diana's stomach, which sent pleasant shivers up the blonde's spine.

"W-Why is that?" Diana stuttered, her face heating further against all odds. "It was far from a perfect first date."

"Well, it showed you were just as nervous as I was." Akko chuckled. "You were always so calm and serious, I was a little worried I was the only one... well worried."

"Akko…"

"But seeing you like that showed me you were just as head over heels for me as I was for you."

Diana smiled when she heard Akko's words, words more true now than ever. She removed one hand from her face, placed it atop the brunette's head, and brushed away at chestnut hair with her thumb, eliciting cute hums and quiet giggles.

The two rested like that for a while, until Akko heard a slight rumble from her girlfriend's stomach.

"Ooh, sounds like Diana's hungry~"

"Perhaps a little." Diana shyly admitted.

"Great! Cause I'm starving." Akko announced before sitting back up. "Wanna order some pizza? My mom left us some money."

"That would be wonderful."

* * *

The two girls ordered, and quickly devoured, a medium sized pizza. Now the two girls were once again together under their pillows, only this time Akko was laying on Diana's lap, and they were both full.

They were also watching another movie, a romantic comedy this time.

Or… "watching", seeing as neither girl was paying any attention to the film.

Diana had once again decided that Akko was more worth her time and attention. Again not something to hold against the movie. She had just resigned herself to being incapable of focusing on anything other than her girlfriend for the rest of the evening.

Somewhere in between the opening credits and the main couple literally crashing into each other on a bridge, Diana had begun poking Akko's cheeks and stomach, each action earning her either a pout or giggle. Diana wasn't sure which she liked more, but both reactions were so incredibly adorable that she couldn't find it in herself to care.

Akko was too busy focusing on how pleasant it felt having Diana relax and play with her like this. Each touch filled her heart with joy, and that didn't even begin to describe how the cute innocent smile on Diana's face made Akko feel.

It was a smile so cute and adorable, Akko just had to…

" _Chuu~_ "

"A-Akko!" Diana recoiled back, her girlfriend's sudden kiss startling her and jump-starting her heart.

Akko grinned as she saw a blush creeping on her girlfriend's cheeks.

And really, just one kiss was nowhere near enough for the brunette. And from the soft look in Diana's eyes, which were shyly stealing glances down her face, Akko was pretty sure her girlfriend was on the same page.

With a mischievous glint in her eyes, Akko laughed before suddenly squeezing Diana's face and tackling the heiress enough such that the both of them broke through a wall of pillows, thus causing the collapse of the Kagari-Cavendish Castle.

Neither girl particularly cared though.

Akko was focused on peppering her girlfriend's squished face with feathery kisses. She made sure to peck every inch of the blonde's face with a kiss, from her forehead, down to her nose, around to her cheeks, and especially on to her lips.

Diana, on the other hand, was trying her hardest to retaliate against the delightfully cute onslaught after being so pitifully caught off-guard. She wanted to turn the tables on her girlfriend, to steal a few kisses of her own, but found it extremely difficult to muster up any sort of defense, each kiss shattering any form of concentration she had. Each one of Akko's kisses caused flutters in Diana's chest and stomach that grew so strong that it addled her thoughts, leaving her incapable of anything more than giggling and allowing herself to be overwhelmed by Akko's adorable offensive.

Each little giggle encouraged Akko, the lovely chime of Diana's laughter causing her to giggle as well between each kiss.

Eventually, with an act of record-breaking mental fortitude, Diana had somehow managed to turn the situation around so that both of them were laying on their side, as opposed to Akko being on top of her. Once there, both girls found themselves exhausted, immediately rolling onto their backs.

Both their faces were sore and red from laughter, and they were unable to muster enough energy or care to remove themselves from the floor.

Akko did have just enough energy to scoot in and press one more kiss onto Diana's cheek though.

"So, you enjoy our little date Diana?" Akko asked as she smiled against the heiress's face.

Diana squeezed Akko's arm and chuckled at the question.

"What do you think Akko?"

After all, the answer to that question was extremely obvious. The wide grin plastered on Diana's face was a dead giveaway.

Akko pretended to ponder for a moment before looking brightly right into Diana's eyes.

"I think you enjoyed tonight soooo much, you'll kiss me right now, and you'll go with me wherever I want tomorrow."

Diana rolled her eyes, turned to face Akko's, cupped her girlfriend's round cheeks, and placed a chaste kiss upon her lips.

"Well, you were half right."

"I bet I can make the other half right too."

"We shall see about that" Diana muttered, before resting her head against Akko's shoulder.

"Oh yes we will." Akko laughed as she interlaced her hand with Diana's.

Eventually, the both of them fell asleep like that, hand in hand underneath a pile of pillows, blankets, and cushions.

* * *

 **And then Akko's parents came home wondering where all the pillows went. When they spotted the two girls, they didn't have the heart to wake them up (though they did take pillows and one of the blankets).**

 **Honestly yesterday was killing me in the best possible way, and I'm hoping that trend continues!**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading this. Thanks to those leaving their thoughts.**

 **And of course, thanks to everyone for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Day 3: Cuddles**

* * *

"Awww c…can't we… just…" Akko's head bobbed up and down as she struggled to keep her half lidded eyes open, "… like… can't we stay loooonger."

Diana giggled quietly as she watched her girlfriend fight against her own inclination to sleep to stay together with her for even a moment more.

It was sweet. Really, just the fact that Akko was pushing herself like this made Diana feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside.

But…

"Akko, you know we can't." Diana lightly chided, her hands under Akko's arms as she attempted to keep the brunette from drooping back down on to the grass. "Ignoring the fact that curfew is upon us, you are clearly in no condition to try and stay awake any longer."

"Buuuut Diaaanaaaa" Akko sleepily whined as she stretched her arms out on Diana's shoulder before resting all of her weight on the taller, more composed witch.

Diana held herself firm, both physically and mentally. She was not about to let Akko fall down… and she was not about to let her adorable sleepy girlfriend convince her to stay out any longer.

"No buts Akko, you have to go to sleep. We have class tomorrow morning."

"Fiiiiiiiine." Akko pouted. "But can we sleep together tonight?"

It was a tempting thought. A truly tempting thought. After all, the nights she spent with Akko cradled in her arms, or herself cradled in Akko's, were always among the most restful nights of sleep she had.

Strangely enough, it was a thought she had failed to entertain throughout the night.

However, despite how wonderful sleeping together with Akko always was, it never failed to have a rather unfortunate result, especially when there would be classes the next morning.

After all, comfort could be a double-edged sword.

"Akko, you know we can't do that." Diana smiled apologetically.

"But why noooooot."

"You know that every time we sleep together, we never wake up until much of the next morning has passed."

"That's cause you're so comfy!" Akko lightly giggled as she wrapped her arms around Diana's neck.

"The sentiment is mutual." Diana muttered with a kiss on the brunette's forehead, eliciting even more sleepy giggles. "But as I said, we have class tomorrow. Neither of us should miss it."

"Fiiine! Be that way." Akko complained before drooping even more onto Diana. "Carry me back to my room?"

Diana laughed as she felt all of her girlfriend's weight press onto her.

"Very well."

* * *

Carrying Akko back to the dorms was a struggle… especially because she demanded she be carried like a princess.

Then there was the fact that they were at the literal furthest point from the dorms, and Akko insisted on giggling and shaking in the blonde's arms making it very difficult to keep a good grip on her.

This is not even mentioning Akko's insistence on peppering kisses on Diana's jaw and collarbone, constantly shooting jolts and shivers through the blonde's nerves, which always made her legs feel like jelly.

It was pretty clear to her that Akko was trying to make her slip up, to abandon this endeavor to put the brunette in bed… and it worked extremely well to some extent. After all, each kiss made it harder for Diana to think about anything other than the wickedly cute girl in her arms.

On several occasions, Diana entertained the idea of stopping where they were, finding a relatively comfortable corner somewhere, and sleeping together right then and there.

But Diana was a Cavendish. Her family had resolve. Honor. Dignity.

She was not about to just let herself sleep on the floor.

More importantly, she was not about to let Akko sleep on the floor. That girl deserved nothing but the best sleeping conditions available.

So, with much resolve… and with more than a few kisses in retaliation, Diana finally made it to Akko's room, where she slowly laid the brunette onto the bed.

She placed one final kiss on Akko's lips before whispering to the girl.

"Good night, Akko. I shall see you tomorrow morning… I… I love you." Diana muttered. Her cheeks grew rosy as she uttered the phrase.

They had just first said it to each other recently, so it was taking some time to get used to saying it whenever they parted… but she never felt happier than when she said it to Akko.

Akko smiled sleepily."I looovve you too Diana."

Except, perhaps, when she heard Akko say it to her. If saying it made Diana's heart feel light and bright, hearing it from her love made her heart feel like it was soaring through the sunlit sky.

Diana smiled fondly as she watched her girlfriend's breathing slow to a steady rhythm. Once she heard that familiar, barely audible, snore, Diana carefully got up and walked towards the door. As she stood by the doorframe, she took one last lingering glance at the brunette, her arms spread out on her bed. She looked so serene, so inviting.

Perhaps if she were to just embrace Akko for a moment...

Diana shook that thought away, knowing exactly where that train of thought would lead.

She sighed before sending her sleeping girlfriend a smile. She then walked out of Akko's room and back to hers.

* * *

As soon as Diana got to her room, she immediately changed into her nightdress, ensured her homework was complete for tomorrow, and laid herself into bed. There was class tomorrow, and she needed to be sure she would be perfectly rested for it as she always was.

She covered herself in her blanket and rested her head on her pillow.

Sufficiently tucked in and alarms ready to wake her in the morning, Diana closed her eyes, expecting sleep to come for her shortly afterwards. After all, just like Akko, she was pretty tired herself. It had been a long day, and, other than her time spent with Akko, it was a pretty stressful one as well.

However, as time passed, Diana realized sleep was absolutely eluding the girl's grasp. Tired as she was, she couldn't seem to get her mind to rest. Plus, for some reason, she couldn't find herself growing comfortable enough to fall asleep… which was preposterous in and of itself.

In the past, her family, as well as other noble families, had donated the highest quality mattresses for Luna Nova to use. In addition to this, at the insistence of her maids and servants, she had brought with her the highest quality bedding, blankets, and feather pillows for her room. The idea that she could find even the slightest bit of discomfort with these conditions was beyond ludicrous.

So the fact that she now found herself uncomfortably hot under her blanket was rather vexing.

And yet when she removed herself from her blanket, she found herself surrounded by a chilling cold.

She tried to sleep with part of her body in her blanket and part of it outside her blanket, but all that did was leave half of herself burning while the other half froze.

And did her neck always bend like this on her pillow whenever she slept?

How could anyone sleep under these conditions?!

Diana tossed and turned, trying to find some position… _any_ position that would allow her to rest comfortably enough to drift off to sleep.

She tried to sleep on her side… on her front. She tried curling herself up then spreading herself out on her bed. She even tried brewing herself a cup of chamomile tea, in the hopes that it would soothe her mind and body. In a way it did, but she still found sleep just barely out of her reach.

Diana huffed as she scowled up at her ceiling.

How could she possibly be feeling so restless right now?

Just earlier, she was outside in the chill wind of the night, yet she was perfectly warm, as opposed to the unbearable heat she felt under her, usually perfectly fine, bedding or the biting cold she felt above her blanket.

Just earlier, her head was perfectly rested, even without the best pillow money could buy her.

How could she possibly feel _this_ uncomfortable in bed, when _just earlier_ she was perfectly content laying on the grass with Akk-

 _Oh._

Diana groaned quietly.

So that was her problem right now.

If only Akko hadn't put that thought in her head...

Diana sighed and shut her eyes, hoping that the knowledge of the problem would enable her to shake it away. Unfortunately, all knowing and acknowledging it did was leave her feeling even more uncomfortable. In addition to the discomfort of her neck _and_ the either unbearable heat or cold, her arms now felt noticeably empty.

She opened her frustrated eyes, lamented her current state of unrest, turned to her side, and thought about what she should do now. After all, it was... pretty clear to her that she wouldn't be getting any sleep without Akko tonight.

Though... if she slept together with Akko, there was always the problem that they might not actually wake up until late in the morning, if not in the afternoon. Whenever the two of them woke up cuddled together, they had a really bad habit of forgetting just about everything else, always insisting on staying in bed together for hours longer than they should. It was... really something they needed to practice getting over, but attempting to do so tonight would be far too risky for Diana's tastes, seeing as classes would be in session. Missing those would be rather unfortunate.

That being said, it wouldn't do any good for her to be too tired to pay any attention anyway… Not to mention Akko would likely sleep in her classes regardless of what happened tonight. The brunette would need to borrow her notes afterwards, so it would be best that she were actually well rested enough to take them. Anyway, she could always just set up as many fail-safes, such as alarms, as possible to ensure an early awakening.

But, there was the issue that the time for curfew had long since passed. Seeing as she had forgone patrol duty for her impromptu date with Akko, she should not be outside of her room now. If she were caught on her way to Akko's, she could find herself in trouble…

Though she could always just make up some excuse. She was quite confident in her ability to think on her toes. Plus, all the professors seemed to trust her unconditionally, and while this was not something she should take advantage of… it's to be with Akko. She'd go to any lengths for Akko.

However… it would be a shame to wake Akko up just because she couldn't sleep by herself tonight. It would be pretty needy of her, _especially_ after she specifically told Akko the two of them couldn't sleep together tonight. She knew her girlfriend, and she knew Akko would not fail to take the opportunity to tease her ceaselessly.

Then again, Akko would not deny such a request, especially if Diana explained it was so that she could fall asleep. Sure Akko would probably tease her about it, give her a hard time, but she would undoubtedly stop and hold her if the heiress ever asked to be held. The girl was pretty clingy when she wanted to be… honestly, she'd probably jump at any chance to cuddle with her. Akko always had, and it never failed to make Diana feel like the luckiest witch to have ever walked the earth.

Before she knew it, she was already seated on her desk, writing a note for Hannah and Barbara for when they awoke to explain the situation to them and to insist that, no matter what, they wake her up tomorrow should she not already be awake. She placed it on the coffee table in the middle of their room.

She also had set up multiple alarms on her desk, just in case.

All preparations set, Diana opened up her door, fully intending to walk over to Akko's dorm.

"Oh, heyyyy Dianaaa, uh, fancy meeting you here?"

However, it seemed she was too slow in her deliberations.

Akko was already in front of her door, still looking as sleepy as when she was put to bed. She had her pillow in one hand and her other hand was raised up in a fist.

Diana heart warmed as she watched Akko, who was dressed in her white t-shirt and red shorts, bashfully sneak glances at her.

"Akko, what are you doing here?" Diana questioned softly, already aware of the answer.

"Well… uh… I woke up earlier and I…couldn't fall asleep again." Akko mumbled, face facing towards the ground as it began to blush, her eyes shyly glancing up to Diana's face. "And uhm… I know you said we shouldn't, but I wanted to see if maybe you changed your mind and you'd let me… sleep with you tonight? In your bed? …Hugs would be nice?

Diana kept her mouth shut, forcing herself to bite back the grin threatening to show itself on her face. She didn't trust herself right now to respond vocally in any way that wouldn't cause her girlfriend to laugh at her or reveal her original intentions.

And really, despite resolving herself to be subjected to it, Diana could do without giving her girlfriend any ammunition with which to tease her.

Besides, why would Diana do _anything_ that could possibly prolong the wait until she could hold her adorable girlfriend fidgeting at her door.

Instead, she quickly grabbed Akko's hand, pulled her into the room, closed her door, and guided the brunette to her bed.

As soon as Akko was seated on the objectively fluffy cloud that was the Cavendish heiress's bed, Diana hurriedly went to make sure all of her morning preparations were in order, ensuring the alarms were set and the note was in a very noticeable area for her roommates to wake up to. Once she was sure, she swiftly returned to her area of the room, where her girlfriend was waiting.

"You know, I'll never get used to how nice all of your bed stuff is Diana." Akko offhandedly said as she grasped at Diana's bedding and sunk her hand into Diana's pillow. "You must have no trouble falling asleep."

Diana laughed silently before pushing Akko down onto her bed and wrapping her arms around brunette's waist, trapping her.

Diana then moved upwards, her hands still holding onto Akko's sides. She moved up just enough so that her mouth was right beside Akko's ear.

"You would be surprised." Diana whispered, with just a hint of irony in her voice, before pressing a light kiss on Akko's cheek.

"W-woah" Akko's heart jumped as she felt Diana's lips press against her cheek, which was now beginning to heat up, "someone's affectionate tonight." She joked, hoping to keep her reactions at least somewhat in check.

She didn't exactly want to be squealing about how much she was enjoying the attention she was receiving, considering it was the dead of night.

"Akko, would you please be quiet and hug me?" Diana quietly commanded, before moving back down and resting her head on Akko's chest.

Akko grinned hearing Diana's commanding tone. Diana never used that tone with her unless she really wanted something from her... and seeing the situation they were in, Akko was going to give Diana the best, most warm hug her arms and legs could give.

Slowly, Akko brought her arms up, her left arm wrapping itself around Diana's shoulder and her right arm brought up so that her hand could rest itself in Diana's hair.

Akko always loved how her girlfriend's hair felt. It was always so ridiculously soft in her hands. Every moment she saw Diana's platinum blonde tresses cascade down her shoulders whenever the witch moved was a moment that Akko longed to run her fingers through it.

As such, every chance she got, Akko would brush Diana's hair with her hand, feeling every soft strand tickle the in-betweens of her fingers. Judging from the smile and hum her girlfriend always gave her, Diana clearly enjoyed the touch as well.

Akko curled her legs around Diana's waist, effectively keeping her in place right in Akko's hold.

Feeling Akko's legs around her, Diana sighed happily. The mattress and pillows her family had spent quite a fortune on paled in comparison to the softness that surrounded the blonde heiress.

Wanting absolutely nothing more than to lose herself in the comfort that was her dear Akko Kagari, Diana pulled herself closer to the brunette. She was close enough to feel every single one of Akko's rhythmic heartbeats against her cheek… Close enough to be lulled by the steady rise and fall of Akko's chest.

"You're not cold, right Diana?" Akko whispered, just to make sure Diana didn't need a blanket or anything of the sort.

"Not at all," Diana grumbled groggily. The warmth she felt from Akko's hold was just enough… was always enough.

"And you're comfortable enough like that?"

Diana felt her eyes beginning to close, her mind growing cloudy and unfocused as sleep finally began to overtake her. "Per…fectly fine."

Diana held onto Akko's waist more firmly. She was so soft... so perfectly warm. She made the heiress feel loved and safe, much like she used to feel when she held the teddy bear her mother gave her when she was a child.

Akko smiled as she stroked Diana's hair and rubbed circles on her shoulder.

Her girlfriend's soft ministrations brought Diana ever closer towards the wonderful reverie of sleep... Just a few more moments of silence...

"So no complaints?"

As soon as she had asked the question, Akko heard a tired whine leave her girlfriend's lips.

"My teddy bear won't stop talking." Diana murmured, her voice almost like that of a child's.

Akko burst into fits of barely silent laughter once she heard the absolutely adorable statement leave her girlfriend's lips.

However, Diana, feeling the body under her convulse in laughter, grasped onto Akko's soft cotton shirt, a growing pout forming on her face.

"Akko, stop." Diana mumbled, her voice rasping."I'm trying to sleep."

"I'm sorry Diana! But you can't just call me your teddy bear and expect me not to laugh!"

Ordinarily, Diana would find herself absolutely horrified for having said such a childishly embarrassing statement earlier, but at this moment her mind was far too dulled by the need to just drift off to sleep to particularly care. Instead, she was just a little frustrated that the only solution to her current restlessness was also moving too much to soothe said restlessness.

"Akko pleeeease." Diana whined, arms tightening around Akko's waist, "I am much too drowsy to think properly right now. Just keep it to yourself, and you can tease me about it or whatever it is you want to do right now tomorrow."

"Fine, fine" Akko giggled out, trying her best to keep her laughter in check. She pet Diana's head as a sort of apology. "I'll behave. I'll be the perfect teddy bear for my perfect girlfriend."

"Good." Diana smiled, her voice airy and light. She slowly loosened her grip on Akko's shirt, allowing herself to once again drift away.

Akko kept her word, saying nothing as she coaxed Diana into sleep through soft touches and gentle kisses.

Once again, Akko's touch filled Diana with a soothing warmth. She could feel her consciousness slipping away, as everything else disappeared, aside for her and Akko.

"Thank you Akko. Love… y…ou." Diana muttered before finally falling into a deep slumber.

Akko watched as all signs of tension left Diana's face, a small smile gracing her lips.

Akko grinned as she felt all of Diana's weight rest onto her.

Usually, when the two of them slept together, Diana would be the one in Akko's position right now. She often insisted on it, having every desire to spoil Akko.

And Akko loved every second of it.

But other times, on very rare occasions such as this, Diana would ask Akko to hold her, relying on Akko to help her feel safe, relaxed, and warm. At times like these, nothing could stop the brunette from jumping at the chance to do this for her.

She had no clue why Diana was this insistent on it tonight, considering the blonde was originally against the idea, but Akko knew better than to question it.

After all, Akko loved being able to be the one to spoil the heiress. She knew Diana went through far too much during the day, and that even the perfect student would need love, affection, and care eventually. Akko relished knowing that, as Diana's girlfriend and apparent teddy bear— which she was most definitely going to tease Diana about in the morning when they were both more awake—, she would be the only person who would ever get to see and hold Diana like this.

The thought made her heart swell, leaving Akko no choice but to hold onto her girlfriend just a little bit closer. Unconsciously, Diana's smile widened as she rubbed her head against Akko's collarbone, fluffy blonde hair tickling her skin.

 _Gaaaah, she's just so adorable sometimes_ , Akko gushed as she felt Diana's head shift against her chest, a sleepy moan escaping her throat.

Considering how stern and composed Diana kept herself throughout the day, Akko could never get used to seeing her girlfriend like this, clinging on to her with the most innocently peaceful child-like smile. If anything, every time she saw Diana acting like this, it just got more adorable.

It took everything Akko had to not let an adoring yelp build in her chest, knowing the sleeping blonde would probably be able to feel it. Considering how light a sleeper Diana could be, the rumble might even wake her up, and it would be an absolute shame to ruin something so cute.

Akko took a peek at the multitude of clocks on Diana's table.

 _Looks like Diana prepared to wake up tomorrow_ , Akko pondered. There had to be at least ten clocks on that table. As she glanced over to count the excessive number of alarms Diana had set, Akko just happened to see the time.

Her eyes widened, not realizing how late it already was. Akko sighed before turning her attention back onto a sleeping Diana.

After taking one more long look at her girlfriend's adorably peaceful face, Akko laid back onto Diana's pillow, finally feeling like she could fall asleep again.

The beautiful girl she was wrapped around helped quite a bit too. As did the gentle beating of the girl's heart, stunningly in sync with her own.

"Love you too Diana." Akko muttered, before finally drifting off into dreams of her and the heiress.

* * *

 **EXTRA:**

* * *

When Hannah and Barbara woke up, Hannah spotted Diana's handwritten note on the table. She picked it up and read it.

"Hey Barb, looks like Akko slept over last night."

Barbara rubbed her eye with one hand as she stretched herself out.

"Oh really?"

"Yeah" Hannah raised up the note, "Diana told us to wake her and Akko up if they weren't up by the time we woke up."

"Alright." Barbara hopped off of her bed, "Wanna go check on them?"

"Yeah."

The two girls checked behind the bookshelf and almost simultaneously sighed out the most exaggerated "Awwwh".

Diana was cradled in Akko's arms and legs, sleeping like a baby, while holding tightly onto Akko's waist.

Whenever Diana's awake, she always had such a serious face. Seeing her like this was always enough to tug at their heart strings.

Sure it was… more than a little weird the first time they saw that look on her face, but they quickly got over it when they realized that it meant Diana was actually relaxed and happy.

"That's so sweet, isn't it Barbara?"

"Yeah… why don't you ever hold me like that?"

"You don't a- Barb what's that?" Hannah pointed at Diana's table.

"What do yo- oh." Barbara's eyes widened.

There were several circular burn marks on the heiress's desk. Each circle was surrounded by gears and metal, which appeared to be the scattered remains of various alarm clocks. They turned back to the adorable couple, and their eyes popped open in fear when they saw the wand in Diana's hand.

Both girls' hands instinctively linked with one another's.

"… D-do we really have to wake them up Hannah? It would be, like, a total shame to end something so terrif- beautiful right?"

"… Diana said to wake them up no matter what… and I'm about as afraid of an angry awake Diana as I am a cranky sleepy Diana."

The two of them gulped before taking one more look at the smiling couple cuddled up to each other, fearing what troubles those two might cast upon them.

* * *

 **This was the first of the prompts I wrote tbh. In which Diana was actually trying to go to sleep, but she couldn't...**

 **Yes I'm aware I ended the first three prompts with them falling asleep. When I finished writing day one's fic, I realized this... Sue me, it was an accident.**

 **Jokes aside, thanks again for any reviews you may leave or really just taking the time to read this! It means a lot.**

 **I really hope you enjoyed it~**


	4. Chapter 4

**Day 4: Protection/Working Together**

* * *

"Uwaaaah, it's so dark and sca-a-a-ary" Akko said extra-shakily as she walked through a dark hallway, huddling close to her partner, "Diana, hold me!"

Diana rolled her blue eyes, listening to the brunette's silly antics.

"Akko, you and I both know you are not afraid of the dark."

"Shhhh, let me pretend I am so I have an excuse to cling onto you."

Diana chuckled before bending her arm out for the brunette to hold onto.

"Akko, you know an excuse is unnecessary."

"Hehe~ I know." Akko giggled, happily taking the blonde's arm in her own. "I just thought I'd set the mood. You know... what with the two of us walking through a scary dungeon looking for giant monsters and all."

"Akko, we are not looking for 'giant monsters'," Diana corrected, "This is simply a three-hour treasure hunt the school holds once a year."

"Yeah, where we can get treasure by killing monsters!" Akko beamed. "Ah~ I'm so glad I was lucky enough to partner up with you."

Diana smiled. "Luck seems to have nothing to do with it. The moment they announced we would be doing this in pairs, you might as well have teleported beside me."

Akko giggled. "Professor Ursula… miiight've let it slip this a couple of months ago during mentoring, so I was ready! No one partners up with my girlfriend but me!"

"There were quite a few people who seemed rather upset we had paired up so quickly."

"Yeah well, what they think doesn't matter. I'm here to destroy monsters with you! What could be more exciting than that?... Besides, all I did was save them the trouble of being rejected! I know you wouldn't pair up without meeee~"

Diana smiled as she felt Akko lean in closer to her. It seemed she'd been looking forward to this for quite a while.

"You are correct. Disregarding that though, I understand you are excited Akko… but just remember we _are_ in a dungeon. There is no telling what we might run into," Diana warned, making sure to tighten her hold on both her wand and the brunette, "We must be careful."

* * *

Despite her warnings, the hunt had gone on without much incident.

The both of them had gone down several floors quickly, eliminating any number of vampire bats, giant insects, and winged beasts. Upon defeating each monster, a treasure would drop in front of them.

Really, it was all rather simple.

Diana was quite content with this though. Not only because there didn't appear to be anything that could put her or Akko into excessive danger, but also because this seemed to be the perfect environment for Akko to practice spells the both of them had been working on.

Akko was having a lot of fun too. Fighting monsters was something she'd always secretly wanted to do, and it was even better knowing Diana trusted her to shoot off spells as freely as she wanted. The blonde even let her beat things on her own, like a giant tarantula that was blocking the entrance to one of the rooms.

Or a huge arachnid that was hanging just above them.

Or that tiny dust spider that was just creeping along the run-down brick walls…

… Akko might want to talk to Diana about that one later.

* * *

As the both of them continued to traverse through the dungeon, they began to run into far more dangerous monsters. Rather than the more beginner-type creatures from earlier, they had started seeing gargoyles, harpies, and even tiny wyverns.

The two of them were still able to handle these new threats rather easily, Diana through her vast knowledge of magical creatures and wide arsenal of spells and Akko through feats of athleticism and well-timed feints she'd honed through a year of causing accidents and running from other monsters, explosives, Sucy, and her professors.

Just like any other group, though, they did eventually run into a road block…

"Akko!" Diana yelled. Her arms strained as she clashed swords with a skeletal knight, trying to keep the both of them locked in place, "Are you almost in position?"

"Y-Yeah, just give me a minute" Akko said through grit teeth, her wand lifted high up in the air, "Just tell me when to drop it!"

"Understood." Diana muttered before turning her attention back to the undead collection of bones she was currently keeping at bay.

With a turn of her wrist, Diana twisted her sword and pivoted to the side, allowing her to slide forward. As the skeleton began to lose its balance and stumble, Diana ducked, twisted her body, and slashed at the knight's wrist, dislodging the joint and pushing the sword away.

She then jumped backwards, dropped her sword, and grabbed her wand from the knot of her sash.

" _Foraen Mugrowna!_ " Diana chanted, pointing her wand towards the confused and disarmed skeleton.

Roots and vines dislodged themselves from the walls and shot straight towards its target, wrapping and subduing the skeleton.

"Akko now!" Diana shouted.

With a grunt, Akko let go of her spell, dropping a huge boulder onto the entrapped knight with a loud, echoing crash. The boulder caused the room to shake and dust to explode and spread throughout the area.

"Ak-" Diana coughed, as she breathed in some dust, "Akko, a-are you alright?" she called out, her vision obstructed.

"I'm fi-" Akko hacked, her eyes watering, "I'm fine! Just a little choked up."

Diana, suitably irritated by the particles surrounding them, waved her wand, causing them all to fall back to the ground. Once she could see Akko rested against the wall, Diana relaxed. Her knees buckled as she collapsed onto them.

"Thank goodness you are unharmed." Diana sighed. She could feel her arms and hands shake, sore from the fight with the undead monster.

Akko noticed the shaking and started to frown.

"Diana! Are you alright? You seem a little tired."

"I am quite alright Akko." Diana sent Akko a small smile, before furrowing her brow in confusion, "I just was not expecting to fight something like the undead here… I did not think our professors would allow something so resistant to normal spells to attack us."

"Maybe they just didn't notice it," Akko laughed, "they do miss a lot of things sometimes… Do you want me to come over there?"

Diana shook her head, knowing Akko was just as tired as she was.

"There is no need, I think it would be best for us to just rest and recover our strength before moving at all." Diana turned to the boulder now embedded into the ground, cracks formed on the floor beneath it.

That had been a rather close call, all things considered… they were fortunate the room had a spare sword and a boulder they could use. If they were to run into another monster that had resistance to magic again in a room that lacked any simple ways to fight back...

"Akko! Do you wish to continue onwards through the dungeon after this break?"

"Of course! We still have an hour or so until we need to go back. Besides, I'm having fun!"

"What if we were to run into another monster with a resistance to magic? I am not quite sure we can continue doing this."

Akko leaned back onto the wall to think… Diana was right. If she had to lift another boulder twenty feet into the air, her arms would probably fall off. Not to mention, sword fighting, cool as it may look, made Diana tired…

"Maybe we can see what the next room is like?" Akko suggested. "If it's something like that again, we can just head back to the entrance."

"That is tr-"

Diana was cut off as she felt the room rumble.

"Diana what was that?" Akko asked, worry in her voice.

However, Diana wasn't paying attention to Akko. She focused entirely on feeling where the shaking was coming from.

She placed her hand on the cold ground and waited for another tremor.

When it came, Diana's eyes widened.

"Akko! Get over here right now!" Diana screamed as loud and desperately as she could, her voice cracking. "Jump if you have to!"

The command snapped Akko to attention.

While she was, understandably, confused, Akko knew better than to second guess her girlfriend… not when her voice had sounded so worried. With all the energy she could muster, she pushed herself off the ground and ran towards Diana.

A moment after she started to move, a huge figure broke through the wall behind her. The force pushed Akko forward, making her lose balance and causing her to trip, stumble, and somersault towards Diana.

Hearing Akko's yelps and seeing her fall and trip beside her, Diana forgot herself for just a moment and ran to Akko.

"Akko, are you alright?" Diana called out, her voice slightly hoarse.

Akko looked up towards the blonde.

"Yeah, yeah I think I- OUCH!" Akko felt a sharp burning pain in her ankle as she tried to push herself off the ground. "Nope, nope. Ankle's messed up. I think I sprained it."

"Allow me to take a look at it." Diana said, rushing to Akko's aid.

She removed Akko's boot and saw that her ankle had begun to redden and swell.

As Diana examined her foot, Akko looked at the wall that had just been demolished. She saw a large shadow emerge from the rubble, eyes glowing green.

She paled as the figured rushed at the both of them.

"Diana! Behind you!" Akko shouted.

Thinking quickly, Diana immediately set up a barrier behind them.

She was just in time as a stone golem, about eight feet tall, had just slung its arm down towards them, slamming against the barrier. The ground beneath Diana shook as the force of the impact was redirected through the barrier to the ground.

"A golem? Why is there another monster resistant to magic…" Diana pondered to herself as the circular golem continued to wail away at the barrier she created. She turned behind her to check up on Akko's condition.

She first thought it would be best if Akko could run back to get help… but then she quickly remembered Akko's ankle. She would heal it up… but she can't let this barrier go down for even a moment. She looked at Akko's face, who seemed more worried about her than scared about the golem.

"Diana, are you going to be okay? Can you keep that up?" Akko asked shakily.

Diana smiled reassuringly.

"I have confidence in my ability to hold my barrier for quite a while."

"Where'd this thing even come from?" Akko groaned, gesturing towards the rocky figure looming over them.

Diana bit her lip, furrowing her brow.

"I believe it may have been attracted to the loud noise from our boulder earlier."

"… Wait. So it's my fault?!" Akko cried out.

"Wha- No. No, of course not Akko!" Diana vehemently denied, stopping Akko's freak out before it could start. "Do not blame yourself for this. It was a necessary step… if anything I should have anticipated something like this happening and immediately had us move back up the dungeon."

"No, don't blame yourself either!" Akko complained, "If I can't blame myself, you can't blame yourself. We needed to rest and there's no way you could have seen this coming...Are you _sure_ you can keep that up? You're not just trying to pretend you can right?"

Diana rolled her eyes.

"When have I ever done such a thing?"

"… Whenever I see you asleep on your desk, and I have to carry you to bed," Akko deadpanned.

Diana chuckled, seeing the completely straight look on Akko's face.

"I promise you, I can hold this up for as long as I need to. My only concern is that we may be here for quite a while… the professors will not be doing rounds until after the hunt is complete in an hour."

"Whaaaat?!" Akko bolted upwards, an action she immediately regretted as pain surged from her ankle throughout her entire body, causing her to wince.

"Akko, relax… All we have to do is wait." Diana said, turning back to the golem who seemed to have no intention of stopping its continuous assault.

"Is there any way we can speed this up though?" Akko asked.

"Not unless Professor Ursula has taught you a spell that can produce a large amount of force… and you are confident you can cast such a spell in your state." Diana joked.

Akko perked up as she heard her mentors name.

"I have one."

"You have one what?" Diana asked curiously.

"A spell for this!" Akko cheered, grabbing her wand. "Though… it might leave me completely drained afterwards so we'll definitely have to go back up."

"… Wait, Akko, you have a spell for this situation?" Diana yelled in shock.

"Yeah! Professor Ursula taught me one!" Akko beamed. "She was teaching it to me since two months ago… when she accidentally told me the treasure hunt would be today, so it was probably in case something like this happened."

"… What spell did she teach you?" Diana looked at Akko incredulously.

" _Belga Vida_."

"Belg- She taught you that?"

"Yup! Though mine isn't even close to as strong as hers… and it kind of makes me really tired after using it." Akko admitted shyly.

"… I see…" Diana looked back at the golem, that had begun flailing its arms useless against her barrier.

It wasn't a particularly high level golem... if it were, Diana would be having much more trouble than this.

However, the golem was at a level that two witches-in-training really should not even be facing. It had a high resistance to curses and elemental spells, much like the skeletal knight. However, unlike the undead, the golem could be hurt directly by spells that could produce a large amount of force.

As long as Akko's spell could at least push the golem back a few feet and confuse it, Diana could switch from her barrier to an appropriate offensive spell... perhaps even an explosive spell.

From there, she could just carry Akko on her shoulders and walk the both of them back to the entrance.

"… Can you cast the spell in your condition?" Diana asked curiously.

"Probably." Akko grinned. "Have I ever messed something like this up?"

"On a daily basis." Diana teased.

"Diana!"

"But never when it truly counts." Diana admitted. "Alright, I shall move towards you now so that you may have a clear shot."

Akko smiled as she poured her magic into her wand. She was only going to have one shot at this, so she was definitely going to make it count.

Diana inched towards Akko, having the unfortunate side effect of giving some ground to the golem.

Once she stood beside Akko, she nodded to her girlfriend still lying on the floor.

When Akko saw her girlfriend's boots in her peripheral vision, she aimed her wand towards the golem. Her aim seemed just a bit shaky to her though.

"Hey… uh, Diana, you mind helping me keep my hand still?"

"… Is this just an excuse for me to hold your hand?" Diana raised a brow.

"N-No?!" Akko denied, before blushing. "… but it _would_ be nice."

Diana smiled and knelt down, placing a hand on Akko's.

"Better?"

"Much."

With a grin, Akko took aim at the center of the golem's chest. She took a deep breath to focus on her wand, concentrating all of her magic into its tip.

" _Belga Vida!"_ Akko yelled.

Diana watched as the magic from Akko's wand radiated brightly before closing in on itself into a small ball. The ball immediately flashed in a bright green light, and a small beam of light shot forth from it, sneaking through her barrier drilling right through the golem's chest.

Diana could feel the recoil of the shot threaten to move the spell off target, so she tightened her grip around Akko's hand and held her ground.

When the beam disappeared, the impaled golem crumbled into dust and rubble, leaving behind a small purple jewel.

With the threat eliminated, Diana relaxed and turned to Akko.

Akko was knocked unconscious, dust and rubble leaving their marks on her face. Akko's right hand hung limp, held up by Diana's hand. Her wand fell on her side, and her left hand was lying motionlessly to her left.

Diana carefully lifted Akko onto her back and smiled as she felt the girl's weight press against her. She was careful around Akko's ankle, not wishing to cause anymore undue discomfort for her.

She smiled and pressed her cheek against Akko's.

"Get some rest Akko, you deserve it." Diana whispered as she walked the both of them back to the entrance.

* * *

"WHERE AM- OW!"

The moment Akko regained consciousness, she immediately bolted upright, much to the pain of her sore muscles.

"Akko, calm down."

Akko turned to see Diana seated beside her. Her hair was all messy, and there were still signs of dust and dirt on the blonde's face. However, seeing that Diana was safe and right beside her relaxed Akko immensely.

"Hey Diana! … uh where am I?" Akko pondered, taking a look around the white room.

"You are in the infirmary… after we returned to the dungeon's entrance, Professor Ursula insisted we both come here to ensure that we are unharmed." Diana explained.

"Oh… how long do we have to stay here?"

"I am free to leave whenever I wish, seeing as I can move," Diana said. She stood off her chair just to make a point. "I am unsure about you, but I suggest you stay here until you are fully rested."

"Awwww, but I wanted to spend some time in your room after this," Akko whined.

"I could always wait with you here," Diana suggested.

"Yeah, but we can't cuddle in here," Akko pouted, calling extra attention to the small, single bed she was currently on.

Diana chuckled and brushed her thumb against Akko's palm.

"We can do so when you can leave this infirmary."

"Technically," a voice said from behind, startling the both of them, "Akko is free to leave whenever she wishes… we can't heal your ankle right now anyway… something about causing a magic overdose. I'm the nurse by the way."

Diana whipped her head behind to see a young witch, possibly just a little older than Professor Ursula, standing behind them.

"See Diana! The nurse says I can leave."

Diana shook her head.

"Akko you need to rest after everything we have done today."

"Yeah, and I rest better with you! There's no better place for me to rest!" Akko giggled.

Diana blushed and turned away.

"Akko... you really should be here with a nurse... Once you're body is better, they can use healing magic on your ankle"

"Yeah, but you know really good healing magic too! You can be my own personal nurse and bring me back to health." Akko beamed at her ever-reddening girlfriend.

With a sigh, Diana relented.

"Alright Akko, you win… but only if you can arrive at my dorm without my help within the next three hours" Diana stated. "I shall be waiting patiently in my room, and if you are not there by then I will promptly return here. Is that understood?"

"Yes Diana," Akko groaned but smiled all the same.

"Very well, I shall see you in three hours." Diana said before she snuck a kiss from her sore girlfriend, earning her delighted giggles.

"Alright, I'll see you within three hours, in your dorm!" Akko declared, before immediately groaning in pain from raising her arm up.

Diana chuckled and opened the entrance to see Akko's roommates standing by.

"Good afternoon Lotte and Sucy."

"Good afternoon, Diana."

"Hey Diana, is our idiot awake?"

"HEY!"

Sucy snickered. "Sounds like she's awake."

Diana just chuckled before saying her farewells and walking to her dorm.

* * *

"So Akko, are you doing okay?" Lotte asked from beside the bed.

"Yeah Lotte, I'm doing fine… just reeeeally sore… everywhere." Akko grunted out as she tried and failed to move a limb.

"Wow, Akko's too tired to move. I'm in shock," Sucy snickered.

"You don't need to rub it in Sucy! … Anyway how did the results of the treasure hunt go?"

"You and Diana got first place!" Lotte cheered.

"Wait? We did?!"

"Yup! Especially considering you two got treasure from a golem and a skeleton knight! Our professors were actually really really relieved you two got out as unharmed as you were. Apparently those weren't supposed to be there..."

"Makes sense… Our magic barely worked on them." Akko muttered.

"According to what Professor Ursula told us, the teachers were really concerned about the students' safety when they heard a loud crashing noise. When they investigated the source, you and Diana apparently showed up on the observation monitor fighting a golem, and Professor Ursula said she was about ten seconds away from running down there and saving you two." Lotte explained.

"I'm guessing she didn't come get us once the golem was defeated cause Diana and I would have been disqualified?"

Lotte nodded. "Also because Diana seemed to have everything under control afterwards."

"Also… There were a few people badmouthing you when they saw Diana arrive with you slung over her shoulder." Sucy added.

"Sucy! Diana told us not to tell her that!" Lotte scolded, but Sucy merely shrugged.

"Wait… they what?"

"They said something about you being nothing but trouble for and needing to be carried by the school's star student. It was actually kind of petty." Sucy said nonchalantly.

Lotte sighed but turned to Akko.

"Apparently being a hero doesn't stop people from being jealous of you."

"But Diana shut them up for you." Sucy continued, mirth in her voice. "Looks like the school hero has her very own hero."

Akko perked up. "She did what?"

"She told everyone that you were vital in accomplishing what the both of you had done in that dungeon… and that anyone who thinks of you as nothing but trouble knows absolutely nothing about you." Lotte chuckled, remembering the horrified looks on those few girls' faces and the smug looks on all of her friends. "She called you a wonderful witch, and even threatened to fight anyone who thought otherwise for your sake… it was so romantic!"

Akko quickly felt a soft fuzzy warmth bloom in her chest and spread throughout her. She smiled softly, thinking about Diana defending her like that.

Now she definitely wanted to get out of this infirmary.

"Hey… you guys, do you think you can help me do something?"

* * *

Diana sat on her couch and sighed. She had spent quite a bit of time cleaning herself of all the dust, dirt, and rubble that was stuck on her skin and hair. In all that time, Diana still couldn't get the words of some of her classmates out of her mind.

Calling Akko a troublesome fool who could not accomplish anything without her or the Shiny Rod.

Just thinking about anyone even implying such a thing made her see red.

It really shouldn't bother her so much, Akko would tell her, but knowing that's what some of them thought of someone who was possibly the best thing to ever happen in her life made her lose all sense of rationality.

If Akko hadn't been resting on her back, she wasn't sure she would have been able to keep as cool a head as she had.

Beyond the frustration, however, Diana felt quite saddened. Akko had done so much... had worked so hard, yet there were always some who wished to take away from her accomplishments, whether it be because of the Shiny Rod… or because of her.

The idea that she was, unintentionally, taking away some of the recognition that Akko so rightfully deserved was something that never failed to make Diana feel guilty.

Before she could ponder any further, she heard several knocks on her door. Diana turned to her clock, and her eyes widened.

"That is odd… it has only been an hour and a half."

Diana knew Akko would be coming… the moment she gave her a chance, the heiress knew Akko was going to make it.

Yet this was far quicker than she had anticipated… she hadn't even brewed the tea yet.

She opened her door and quickly smiled.

Akko was being supported on the shoulders of both her roommates. She also seemed to have a plate of cookies in her hands.

"Hey Diana~ I made it." Akko beamed.

"Why yes you did. I never doubted you would for a moment." Diana smiled, brushing her hand against Akko's cheek. She looked straight into Akko's eyes, entranced by the love and affection deep in her ruby red eyes.

Akko giggled and leaned into her girlfriend's touch.

"If you two are done flirting," Sucy interrupted their moment, "I would like to put Akko down."

"Oh, of course," Diana snapped out of her trance, face blushing as she remembered Akko's roommates were with her, "you can lay her on the couch."

"Thanks Diana," Lotte smiled as the two witches carefully carried Akko.

"Yeah, thanks a lot. I really didn't want to have to listen to Akko whine about how bored she is stuck in our room." Sucy said, though there was always that hint of a joke in her voice.

Lotte chuckled as the both of them sat Akko down on the couch and placed the plate of cookies on the coffee table. The two witches excused themselves and walked out of the room.

"Well, if you excuse me… I need to brew some tea," Diana said, "I was not expecting you so soon."

"Gotta keep my girlfriend on her toes!" Akko grinned as she watched Diana retreat behind her bookshelf.

While waiting, she took a look around the room and pushed back against the couch. Her neck felt sore, and she was trying to find a good place to rest it.

When Diana returned, teapot in hand, Akko stopped and smiled.

"So Sucy and Lotte told me about what you did after you brought us out of the dungeon."

Diana stilled and looked away.

"I told them not to say anything to you." Diana muttered.

"I'm glad they told me," Akko reassured. "It made me feel really nice knowing you'd defend me like that."

"Of course I would Akko," Diana said, sending Akko a small smile. "You have worked very hard. It is a shame that some people refuse to acknowledge that."

"Yeah, well. Who cares what they think? They can think whatever they want," Akko shrugged, the action sending a quick jolt of pain. "It doesn't- Actually hey Diana, mind if you sit next to me? … I'd go to you but I can't move."

Diana chuckled before following her girlfriend's request. When she sat down, Akko immediately rested her head on Diana's shoulder.

"That's better…" Akko sighed happily.

Diana brushed a hand through Akko's bangs, earning her more happy sighs.

"Anyway, as I was saying," Akko began again, "it doesn't matter what they think… all I care about is what those who actually try to know who I am think about me. Like you."

Diana smiled, feeling her chest lighten up, the guilt ebbing away from Akko's simple words.

It never failed to surprise her just how easily Akko could soothe her worried heart… how easily Akko could chase away all the scared and worried thoughts that invaded her mind. Though it made sense considering how easily Akko could wind it back up again.

Shaking the thought away, Diana simply rested her head and began to speak.

"I am glad. And as I am sure you are aware, I think the world of you."

"Of course." Akko grinned. "I think the same for you... I love you after all."

Diana's heart swelled, never getting tired of hearing Akko say that to her. She smiled as the same words effortlessly escaped her lips.

"I love you too, Akko."

The two sat like this for just a few moments, until Akko suddenly remembered something from earlier in the dungeon.

"So, Diana, when were you going to tell me?" Akko said, her lips curved up in a cat-like grin.

Diana looked to Akko in confusion, unsure what the girl was talking about.

"Tell you what Akko?"

Akko stared impishly into Diana's eyes, her face in a splitting grin.

"When were you going to tell me that my super amazing, sword fighting, protective girlfriend… is afraid of spiders?"

Diana's face flushed and heart jumped into her throat hearing the accusation.

"W-what?! Don't be ridiculous Akko! I would never be afraid of such a silly thing as spiders!" Diana denied furiously.

"Oh really? Then why did you have me kill all the spider monsters alone?"

"B-Because they just seemed the safest monsters for you to handle on your own." Diana rushed, her heart beating rapidly.

"Is that so?" Akko smiled as she slowly took out her wand, "Well that's good, cause Sucy showed me this awesome spell that lets me summon a spider familia-"

"Don't you dare Akko!" Diana yelled before diving towards Akko and snatching the brunette's wand away.

"Wow, you really are afraid of spiders, huh," Akko said in amused disbelief.

"I have no idea what it is you are talking about." Diana huffed, her cheeks flaming red, as she moved to the other side of the couch.

"You know Diana," Akko whispered, as she struggled to get herself back to resting on Diana, "if you're so afraid of spiders, I wouldn't mind helping you with them."

Diana just rolled her eyes and laughed.

"My hero." Diana replied, with just a touch of sarcasm.

Though, to show Akko she wasn't totally kidding, she closed the small gap between the both of them, ending her girlfriend's struggle.

"I hope so," Akko grinned as she rested her head against Diana's shoulder again, "cause you're already mine."

* * *

 **Look at my first attempt at writing some sort of action~ wheee.**

 **For the sake of the... everything, let's just assume Diana has a strange fear of spiders.**

 **Why? Cause I saw a comic from azurathemagician on tumblr, and it made me smile and laugh.**

 **That aside, I hope it was an okay read, it was a bit different than I'm used to writing...**

 **On a side note, I'm just going to pray I have tomorrow's ready and out on time... it wasn't pre-written and I'm honestly having trouble with it unfortunately.**

 **Anyway, Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Day 5: Enchanted/Spellbound**

 **Bold:** **Akko's notes**

 _Italics:_ _Diana's notes_

* * *

Akko sighed as she looked out of the car window.

It had been two weeks since winter break started, since she had flown back to Japan.

Two weeks without Diana with her.

Sure, Akko was beyond happy to see her parents again. And she was definitely glad to meet her old friends. Akko even had a chance to show off some of the magic she'd been learning in Luna Nova… getting to see the look of awe on her friends' faces made her really happy.

That being said, Akko still couldn't shake off the distinct empty feeling in her chest. It was normally subtle, just barely there, but she still did notice it.

After all, it was the first time she and Diana had been separated since they started dating almost nine months ago… Despite being surrounded by people she loved, it still felt almost lonely without her.

There were really only two silver linings for the situation.

One: break was almost over, and in a few days, she'd be back in Luna Nova ready to make up for all the lost time.

And two...

Akko felt a tingle from the silver locket hanging around her neck.

Instantly, her eyes brightened, and she quickly reached out for the notebook next to her. She opened it up and was greeted with a message, written neatly in cursive.

 _Good afternoon Akko_. _How are you doing?_

Akko grinned and grabbed the pen she kept in her coat pocket. She laid her notebook on her knee and hastily began writing beside the note.

 **Good morning Diana! I'm doing alright, and I'm guessing you just woke up?**

 _That is correct. It has just turned 6 a.m. here. I have about an hour to spare before Anna comes in with my breakfast. What is it you are doing at this moment?_

Akko giggled as the originally empty page began to fill with words, doodles, and hearts between her and Diana.

* * *

 ** _Two weeks ago_**

* * *

"Dianaaaaaa" Akko cried out, hugging tightly around the heiress's waist, "why can't you come over this winter break? You came over last summer."

"I apologize Akko," Diana said, her eyes looking down at her girlfriend's teary face. She placed her hand on the top of chestnut-brown hair and slowly petted her. "The Cavendish family is holding its annual Yule celebration. There will be members of noble witch families from all around Europe… and I am unfortunately unable to miss it."

"But I'm going to miiiiiss youuuu" Akko pouted.

Diana smiled softly through the pang in her chest as she wiped a tear that had begun to fall from the brunette's eye.

"And I you, Akko… I am dreading the time away from you."

"And my parents were sooo excited to see you again too…" Akko mumbled, letting her arms fall to her side.

Diana kneeled in front of her girlfriend and cupped her cheek, bringing their eyes level with one another.

"I am so sorry I am unable to go with you… I was looking forward to visiting your family again." Diana pressed their foreheads together, sighing as she felt the warmth of Akko's head against hers. "I had actually forgotten about my family's Yule celebration."

"If only you didn't remember it," Akko whined.

Diana chuckled, knowing Akko had meant nothing by it. She was just a little frustrated, which was understandable. Diana felt it too.

Still, she truly did hate seeing Akko so sad and frustrated.

Luckily, for her, she knew exactly how to ease both of their frustrations.

The heiress slowly leaned forward and pressed a kiss against Akko's lips.

Akko quickly closed her eyes and smiled against the kiss, moving herself closer and enjoying the warmth that spread throughout her, feeling the way her heart sped up just the slightest bit.

"Mouuu, that's unfair Diana," Akko whined against Diana's lips, "You know I can't stay mad like this."

Diana giggled. "Then I suppose my plan was a success."

Akko separated themselves for a moment only to immediately rest her head against Diana's shoulder.

"I'm going to miss you…"

"I know… but it will only be for three weeks." Diana said, bringing her arm up to stroke Akko's head.

"Yeah, but that'll be three weeks where I can't see you, or talk to you, or anything!" Akko sighed. "I've seen your manor, Diana. There's no computer, no internet... You don't even have a phone there! And since no one in this school has a cellphone, except maybe Professor Croix… I can't even send you… like text messages or something like that!"

Something clicked in Diana's head when Akko mentioned messages. She was suddenly reminded of something she had come across while researching various charms for one of her exams from earlier in the semester.

"… Perhaps not…" Diana muttered, before smiling against Akko's ear. "But I do believe I know of a better method of communication than… 'text messages'."

* * *

 _ **Present Day**_

* * *

As soon as her family parked in the garage, Akko bolted out of their car and into the house, took off her shoes, and sped upstairs into her room. She jumped onto her bed and quickly opened up her notebook, to the page that she was just on.

The page was filled with written messages between her and Diana the both of them had sent whilst Akko was waiting in the car and Diana was waiting for breakfast.

In that hour of waiting, the empty page had filled up, the contents of their messages easily filling up both sides of the open pages.

Akko's shaky handwriting— it was because of the moving car, she'd swear— and Diana's neatly organized writing were scattered throughout them. There were doodles Akko had drawn in, both stick figures and not stick figures, most of them with little additions from the blonde heiress.

The heiress would maybe add in some shading to give a drawing more depth.

She'd maybe draw a cat and a bunny around other doodles, knowing Akko would just love the cartoonish animals, modeled after her very own transformations.

Akko's favorite additions, however, were whenever there were two doodles doing something together, like holding hands, kissing, or even just having a picnic, Diana would always draw a heart around them, knowing it was for them.

The things on the page that Akko liked the most, however, were the red and blue circles that appeared sporadically. Each circle had an arrow connected to it with the words " _Kiss here_." Wherever there was a circle, if Akko were to press her cheeks, her forehead, her lips, or… any part of her face really, she'd be able to feel as if Diana was pressing a kiss against it. Those were the blue circles.

The red circles were Akko's kisses for Diana.

And there were a lot of circles.

It was kind of a silly thing to do. The circles stayed, and the kisses they held remained… but neither of them cared.

After all, both her and Diana clearly loved sending each other new kisses. They had their reasons.

For one, each new kiss sent a signal to their corresponding charm. For Akko, it was a silver locket Diana had given her before they parted for break. For Diana, it was a red and blue beaded bracelet Akko had given her. The charm would send a wave of warmth and then would light up whenever there was something new written into their notebook.

More importantly, each little kiss was different. Some were soft and light. Others were more firm.

One even came with a slight case of morning breath… immediately followed by a hasty apology from the heiress. Akko just giggled, replying with a quick **Did you want to kiss me that much?**

Their solution… wasn't perfect. There was unfortunately no way to see each other… Akko would have really loved the see the blush she knew would have appeared on her girlfriend's face.

There was also no way to hear each other's voices or feel each other's touch.

 _Akko, would you happen to free at this moment? I have just finished breakfast._

Akko smiled as she saw the new message appear out of the corner of her eye.

 **Of course~ I'm always free for you!**

But the solution worked, at least it would for just one more week.

* * *

The soft green light of Akko's wand illuminated her bedroom as she laid on bed, writing into her notebook.

 **So Diana, what're you doing now?**

 _I am spending some time with my family's horses in the stables._

 **Oooh! Horses. I wanna see~**

 _Perhaps I can show them to you once you are back at Luna Nova. I could let you ride one as well._

 **Oh! Can I ride with you?**

 _Of course Akko._

 **Yaaay! Thank youuu**

Akko doodled a stick figure spinning and dancing next to her message. She giggled when she saw Diana draw another one dancing right next to it, the both of them surrounded by a heart.

She grinned at the picture, before breaking into a loud yawn. She pouted, before regretfully writing her next message onto the page.

 **I think I'm going to have to sleep now Diana… it's getting late, and I need to wake up early tomorrow.**

 _… Is that so… Okay then, I hope you have pleasant dreams Akko._

 **Thank you, Diana!**

Akko tapped her chin with her pen, before immediately scribbling another note onto the page.

 **Oh Diana!**

 _Yes Akko?_

Akko pressed her lips against the notebook, a red circle forming on the spot. She drew an arrow towards it and wrote beside it.

 **Can I get a good night kiss?**

A second later, a blue circle appeared next to it.

 _Of course you can Akko._

Akko squealed with joy, before pressing her lips against the blue circle. Instantly, she felt Diana's soft lips against hers, filling her with warmth. When she pulled back from the page, Akko licked her lips and noticed a distinctly sweet taste.

 **Chocolate, Diana?**

 _… I thought you would like it._

Akko giggled.

 **Of course I did Diana! It was extra sweet, cause it's from youuu**

 _Akko, you are making me blush…_

 **Ehehehe, good. I hope you have a good day! You better not be working too hard, cause I'll know.**

 _There is hardly any work left to do since the Yule celebration ended... but I shall keep that in mind._

 **Good! Anyway, just a few more days and I can see you again! I hope you're ready for three weeks worth of hugs and cuddles~**

 _I am absolutely looking forward to it Akko. I hope you are prepared as well. I have especially missed having you in my arms._

 **Ehehe, I guess we both have a lot to look forward to in a few days. I can't wait to see you again Diana. I've missed you a lot.**

 _I have missed you as well. It has been a rather trying two weeks._

 **Yeah I know. But we're almost there. And then I'm all yours.**

 _And I will be all yours as well._

Akko heart fluttered, and, before she could think about it, she had pressed another kiss against the notebook.

Much to her relief and joy, another blue circle appeared for her.

 **Thanks Diana, you're the best!**

 _I know. As are you._

 **Awww! anyway it's getting late.**

Akko sighed, looking at her clock. It was just past midnight… she'd need to sleep now if she had any hope of waking up in time to give Diana her good night kiss.

 _Oh, I apologize for keeping you._

 **No, no. You don't need to. I loved talking to you. You always make me smile!**

To prove her point, Akko drew a big smiley face next to her note.

 _Believe me, the sentiment is shared. I cannot help but smile whenever I even just think about you._

 **Aww, now you're just flattering me~ Just for that, you're getting even more cuddles when I'm back**

 _Perfect._

 **Ehehe, I'll talk to you again before you sleep. I love you!**

 _I love you too Akko, good night._

Akko smiled as she read over the notes they'd sent each other. She turned the page and skimmed over two week's worth of notes and drawings they'd sent each other. Two weeks' worth of "I love you's" and "I miss you's".

Akko quickly re-experienced two weeks' worth of kisses before finally closing her notebook and holding it close to her chest, just above her heart.

She held it tight, almost like a temporary stand-in for her girlfriend. Sure it wasn't exactly the softest thing… or the warmest thing.

It was just a notebook after all.

However, that notebook held every communication she had with her girlfriend over the course of two weeks… Perhaps none of the warmth or the softness was in it, but it did hold at least a fraction of the feelings behind it.

And for now? That would be good enough.

At least until she was back in Luna Nova.

The day she returned, Akko wasn't planning on letting Diana go for even a second.

* * *

 **So a shorter one today... Cause I actually had a lot of trouble figuring out something for this day.**

 **This was one of the two non-prewritten fics. And it's certainly a bit different than I'm used to doing... so I'm not quite sure how I feel about it. Just in case there's a need for a time reference, 6am in England is 2pm in Japan.**

 **That being said, I hope it was enjoyable!**

 **Thanks for reading~**


	6. Chapter 6

**Day 6: Crossover/AU**

 **Oooor, the generic fantasy AU.**

* * *

"AKKO! You said this was a simple retrieval quest!" Diana growled, as she ducked and jumped to avoid a seemingly never-ending sequence of obstructing branches.

"It is!" Akko whined. "See? We got the target!"

 _Meow~_

Akko held out a black kitty, wrapped in her gauntlet-ed hands, for Diana to see.

"What part of _that,_ " Diana gestured behind them, "makes you think this was a simple retrieval quest?"

Akko chanced a look behind them, her heart jumping as she saw the wall of wailing and groaning ghouls and shadowy goblins closing in on them, snapping every branch in their path as they reached out for the ends of her red scarf.

"How was I supposed to know fetching the mayor's pet kitty would summon all these monsters?!" Akko cried out. "The mayor didn't tell me anything about them!"

Diana glared at Akko before taking a look at the horde of monsters chasing after them.

Her eyes widened.

"Akko! Watch out!"

In an instant, Diana unfastened her silver bow from the back of her sky blue tunic, grabbed an arrow from her quiver, drew it back on her bowstring, and aimed behind Akko's head.

" _Murowa_!" Diana yelled, her gloved hand releasing its grip on the bowstring and shooting the arrow forward.

The arrow glowed with a green light, instantly vaporizing a ghoul that had jumped to slash away at Akko.

"Woah! Thanks Diana!" Akko yelled, trying her best to speed up.

"I have no idea why I let you talk me into doing these with you." Diana muttered, her eyes shifting focus between the path in front of her and on Akko.

"Because we're partners!" Akko cheered. "And cause you love me!"

Diana sighed.

"Did you even bother looking at the quest details before you accepted it?!"

"Of course I looked at it... s rewards." Akko mumbled, holding the kitty tightly against her.

"Its rewa- Akko! There could have bee-"

"Diana look out!" Akko tucked the kitty against her black tunic and drew the sword that was fastened to her left side with her right hand. She then jumped over Diana, slashing the goblin that was just about to club the blonde.

"… We will talk about this later." Diana muttered. "… And thank you."

Akko smiled. "Oh! There's the exit!" Akko pointed forward at the light shining past the tree trunks.

The two adventurers jumped through the clearing. Diana rolled herself into position, taking aim with her bow towards the forest. Akko stumbled and tripped, but managed to get herself back up, sword in hand.

"Akko, don't you think we could use one of the spells right about now?" Diana asked, her eyes focused on the forest behind them, awaiting the first monster to come after them.

"They're too spread out! I wouldn't be able to hit all of th-"

The two girls felt the ground shake.

"… Akko… what was that?" Diana asked, a twinge of fear in her voice.

"I don't know, but I hope it's big!" Akko proclaimed, her voice exuding excitement as she hid the kitty into her satchel.

The tremors came from the forest. With each shake, a loud hollow drum echoed outwards into the field, accompanied by the sounds of collapsing trees and panicked birds fleeing the area.

Akko squealed happily.

"Ooooh! I think it's a big o-"

Akko was interrupted by a deafening roar, accompanied by a gust of putrid wind that blew from the forest, carrying the scent of rotting eggs and fish .

"Eww gross! That stinks." Akko retched, holding the nose of the black kitty in her satchel shut.

"Akko, would you please take this seriously?!" Diana scolded. "That sounded like a shadow dragon."

"Smelled like one too."

"Akko!"

"Lighten up Diana! You know we got this… especially since all those monsters decided to gather up together." Akko smirked, as she gripped the blade, adorned with seven jewels, in her hands. "It's like they don't know who they're fighting."

Diana sighed.

"I would greatly appreciate it if you would quit being quite so arrogant." Diana said sharply. "Need I remind you of the last time we fought one of these?"

"Yeah, and we killed it!" Akko smiled.

"Akko, you could have gotten yourself killed!" Diana bit back. "You were being far too reckless."

"… You're just mad I had the killing blow." Akko grumbled.

"That's not the point!"

At Diana's yell, a large shadow burst out from the forest.

The shadow converged together and formed in the shape of a large dragon. It stood on four thin legs, and its neck grew out of its large, oval body, looming high up into the air. Horns protruded from the back of its head, and its eyes glowed red.

"Yup, that's deeefinitely a shadow dragon." Akko said, as slowly she closed her satchel, keeping the black cat safe from harm.

The dragon glared down at the adventurers and released a loud roar, the pungent smell many times more foul due to its source's close proximity.

"Gross!" Akko screamed, wiping off drops of saliva from her face. "That's disgus-"

"Akko, duck!" Diana yelled as she jumped high up into the air, readying three arrows into her bow.

"What?" Akko blinked before immediately widening her eyes.

The dragon had twisted its body, swinging its tail right at her.

Akko slid under the tail with an eep. She swung her sword and scratched the underside of the tail, causing the dragon to unleash a pained roar.

Hearing the dragon's roar, Diana enchanted her arrows. Two of them glowed orange, and one glowed blue. She aimed her bow up and released her hold on the bow string, shooting the arrows at the beast.

The blue arrow impaled the dragon's long neck. The arrow burst, freezing the air around it, covering a blob of shadow in ice. Her two other arrows flew towards the body where they exploded upon impact, causing another pained roar to rip from the dragon's throat.

When Diana landed, the dragon raised up one of its claws and swiped down at her.

The young archer prepared another arrow, this time shining yellow, and shot it straight into the dragon's claw.

The arrow exploded in a burst of light, causing the claw to disintegrate before it could even land atop the blonde archer.

The dragon recoiled in pain and pulled its claw back so that it could regenerate.

Diana readied an arrow and quickly turned to Akko.

Akko saw this and nodded, holding her blade horizontally in the hair, one hand on its hilt and the other on the flat of the long sword.

Diana quickly sprinted towards Akko and jumped onto the Chlaiom Solais. Akko pushed her sword up in time with another one of Diana's jumps, launching the archer high up in the air.

Diana stalled once she was eye level with the beast.

" _Murowa!_ "

Diana's arrow glowed green. She released it, impaling the dragon's glowing eye.

The dragon unleashed another pained roar as its eye was assaulted by pure magic, causing it to dissipate.

When Diana landed onto the ground, she quickly readied one more arrow and aimed it towards the dragon's head.

However, the dragon was beyond enraged. Its remaining glowing red eye narrowed at the two adventurers. Smoke rose out from the dragon's nose and mouth, and the ice on its neck began to melt. The dragon's mouth ripped open, unleashing a black inferno jetted downwards at the two heroes.

Akko quickly dashed in front of Diana and lifted her sword into the flame's path.

" _Mayenab Dysheebudo!_ "

Each one of the seven jewels on Akko's blade lit up yellow before transforming into a large shield, protecting both her and Diana from the dark inferno aimed towards them.

Diana breathed out a sigh of relief, knowing the Chlaiom Solais's shield form was pretty much impregnable.

"See! We got this." Akko grinned down at Diana.

"Just because you have the world's most powerful weapon with you." Diana joked.

From anyone else, such a statement would likely leave Akko angry and annoyed.

From Diana? All Akko could muster was an eye roll at her girlfriend's attempt to push her buttons.

"Wanna have the last shot?" Akko offered. "I know you love doing our little team attack."

"Oh?" Diana was genuinely surprised at the offer. "Are you sure? I recall you considering the final blow the most important one."

"Yep! It's fine. I got to take down the last one, so I think I should let you kill it this time."

Diana smiled.

"Well, who am I to deny such a _gracious_ offer from the Chosen hero of Luna Nova?"

Akko chuckled.

"Well, you know the words, right?"

"Of course." Diana muttered before taking a deep breath.

Akko and Diana began chanting a spell together.

" _Noctu Orfei_ ," The jewels on the shield began to glow yellow once again, the jewel embedded in the center on Diana's silver bow glowing blue. " _Aude Fraetor_!"

When the two adventurers yelled out the spell in unison, the shield dissipated into a mass of light, which was absorbed right into the blue jewel of Diana's silver bow, filling it with energy.

Diana smirked and took aim at the shadow's head, the giant beast immobile after having just unleashed such a powerful inferno.

* * *

"And there we were, faced with a beast forty… no, fifty feet tall!"

Diana smiled as she watched Akko embellish the tale of their most recent adventure to the local tavern.

She had been travelling with Akko for well over a year at this point. The brunette girl had been chosen by the Chlaiom Solais, a magical blade blessed by the world's seven deities, to fight back against a great evil that terrorized the kingdom of Luna Nova.

Together the two fought and defeated seven embodiments of evil that plagued the land, leaving just one left.

Diana had noticed that after every major escapade, Akko would always share the tale of their efforts to anyone willing to listen… and when you just so happened to wield the Chlaiom Solais, everyone was eager to listen.

At first, Diana found this habit of hers annoying. She considered it gaudy and egotistic.

It didn't help that, when the two of them were had first started her journey, their relationship bore more than a little animosity. While Diana would never think of joining or correcting Akko's tales, after all she thought herself above such petty actions, she was always annoyed when Akko used these to hurl passive aggressive insults at her.

Though, as their time together lengthened, Diana found that she quite enjoyed Akko's storytelling.

The girl was clearly inspired by the tales of the previous wielder of the Chlaiom Solais, Chariot of the North. They were tales that everyone adored, and Diana was no exception.

As she listened to Akko embellish every detail just enough to create a feeling of wonder for those who listened, Diana picked up all the little bits and inspirations from the storytelling style of the many legends of Chariot's adventures.

… It helped that, as time passed, Akko went from calling her a "crabby archer", to a "crabby archer who does cool things sometimes", to "my partner Diana", to finally "Diana, the best partner anyone could ever ask for."

That actually helped quite a bit.

It also helped knowing Akko slowly incorporated the archer more properly into her stories, to the point that it stopped being only about Akko with her annoying archer and started being about both of them working together.

And though she would never tell the young hero— Akko's ego was already big enough—, Diana had always found herself drawn in to Akko's stories, even back when she found them annoying.

She could never ignore the way Akko's voice pitched up and down for dramatic effect… the way her partner's eyes always lit up in the most charming of ways whenever she recounted a tale, captivating the blonde archer… though she did used to find them annoyingly optimistic when they first started out.

"… and that's when Diana, the loveliest, most amazing archer in aaaaall the land, shot the beast through the head with a powerful arrow of light! The beast gave one more deafening, guttural, roar before it blew up in a puff of smoke, earning us…" Akko dug into her satchel and revealed a dark triangle to the adoring crowd surrounding her, "a Shadow Scale!"

Diana giggled as she listened to the audience "ooh" and "aah" as they gazed upon the, admittedly rare, material.

She could only guess what Akko wanted to do with it. The two of them had shared many secrets in the past, yet what Akko had been planning to do with the materials she had received recently have remained a mystery.

"And that's the end of my tale for tonight! If you would excuse me, I have a date with one blonde archer mage riiiiiiight over there!" Akko pointed towards the Diana seated towards the back of the tavern. She smiled, hopped off the stage, and dashed towards her love, eager to complete her after-quest ritual.

Despite the now growing blush on her face, Diana's smile widened a fraction as she braced herself. This was Akko's latest addition to the ritual, and Diana would be lying if she said it hadn't instantly become her favorite part.

In just one second, Akko had closed the gap between the stage and her partner. In the next second, she jumped onto Diana's lap, wrapped her arms around the archer's neck, and pulled her in for a kiss.

The kiss was brief, nothing more than a peck really… they were in public after all. Despite that, it still sent jolts of magic through them and still left tingles on their lips. When the two separated, they both had the same goofy, blushing smile on their face.

"So, did ya miss me?"

Hearing the question, Diana quickly shook the smile on her face away. She still had to lecture her silly partner.

"I am still quite cross with you Akko," the archer said, carefully lifting Akko off of her lap and onto the seat next to her.

"Aww, what'd I do?" Akko groaned, leaning her head onto the wooden table.

"Why would you not think to read the quest details?" Diana scolded. "If we had packed any lighter, we might not have been so lucky as to escape that forest."

"C'mon Diana, we both know you'll over-prepare for everything." Akko swatted. "You only prepared us for a fetch quest, and we had enough stuff to escape a shadow army."

"Akko, you cannot just rely on my predisposition to over prepare." Diana sighed. "What if I were to go against that one of these days?"

"Well, I know you won't, so that's never going to be a problem." Akko chuckled.

Diana leaned back in her chair. While she was glad to know Akko trusted her so much, she did find this side of Akko just a tad too careless for her liking… a quality that Akko's stories seemed to always lack…

Diana chuckled as she thought of the perfect payback for the trials Akko had unwittingly put her through today.

"Hm, Akko." Diana whispered, "Do you think they would like to hear a story from me?"

"Huh?" Akko's eyes red eyes brightened. "You're going to tell a story? What about?"

Diana pretended to ponder, choosing to keep her partner in suspense.

Once she saw Akko bouncing in her seat, Diana figured she'd waited enough. She leaned in and began to whisper in Akko's ear.

"I think I will call it _The Hidden Side of the Great Atsuko Kagari_." Diana smirked.

"… The what?" Akko blanched immediately.

A story about _her_ from her ever-loving partner. The one person who knew everything about her?

That couldn't be good at all.

"Well, I seem to notice that when you tell your stories, you like to embellish the details… which is fine to an extent." Diana explained clinically.

"… Yeah?" Akko asked, fear in her voice.

"However, I have realized that you tend to… gloss over the less flattering details of our adventures together." Diana began, grinning at the look of absolute horror on her partner's face. "I thought it would only be right if everyone got to hear of the Atsuko Kagari that I have come to know and love."

"You wouldn't…"

Diana laughed quietly.

"Of course I would. For example, I would love to recount the tale of what happened to you on our way to finding the temple of for the third spell _Arae Arryhra_. You do recall what happened, do you not?"

Akko kept her mouth shut, eyes widened in fear.

"Oh you do not? Allow me to remind you then." Diana moved closer to whisper into her partner's ear. "The priestess of the deity of apothecaries turned you into a tiny bunny rabbit, which you remained until your… what did you call me back then… 'crabby archer' found you hiding from a rather tiny puppy. I was almost tempted to keep you like that by the way. I found you far cuter and much less annoying at the time"

"Diana please don't tell them about that…" Akko begged, terrified.

"Oh? Then perhaps I can recount the tale of your 'impressive battle scars'… of how most of them are actually from your failed attempts at mastering the fifth spell." Diana smirked. "After all, your wonderful partner is always around to heal battle wounds before they can scar… but wounds from falling from a tree? I do not believe she ever found those threatening enough to heal."

"Dianaaaa noooo." Akko cried out, her face growing pink as she recalled the less… heroic parts of her journey.

"Hm…" Diana tapped on her chin, wanting to tease Akko just once more, "and why shouldn't I? After all, I think it is only fair for me to give everyone a complete image of their great hero. It is not as if you ever shied away from revealing the less than heroic events I have ever been involved in."

Akko slumped in her chair, nearly defeated. Diana was right of course. She did tend to reveal more about the blonde than she needed to… _especially_ when they first met and got on each other's nerves…

The young hero was pretty sure Diana was joking… she'd never _really_ go up and share a tale with the others.

Even so, Akko tried to roll through her memories, thinking of anything she could use against the blonde to turn the situation around. She looked for anything she had not told in a tale… if there _was_ anything she hadn't ever told anyone before.

And then, like one of the many practice arrows Diana shot at her the day they met, it hit her.

"Becaaause," Akko began in a cutesy tone, instantly wiping the confidence off of the archer's face, "you wouldn't want to make your 'wovewy Akko Kagawi' sad would you?"

Diana's face flared hotter than dragon's fire, her heart jumping quicker than the fastest unicorns.

"Akko!" Diana hushed, "we _swore_ never to speak of that day!"

"What?" Akko whispered, "I can't talk about the time you accidentally got hit by the light of the deity of love's mirror, forcing you to act all lovey-dovey with your 'truest of loves'?" Akko giggled, watching the horror mix with the embarrassment on Diana's face.

"I swear Akko…" Diana grumbled menacingly, though the blush on her face and defeated look in her eyes sent an entirely different message.

Akko chuckled, knowing she had just won…

Though she would admit it wasn't much of a victory considering how absolutely, mortifying flustered that specific event made her.

After all, they did _both_ swear never to bring it up around other people.

* * *

After the tavern, both Diana and Akko visited the mayor to return her pet kitty. Mayor Holbrooke was overjoyed to be reunited with her pet.

Mayor Holbrooke offered several different rewards.

Diana, having trained in both archery and magic, collected the Spellcaster's Tome, a grimoire containing the spells and potion recipes of the most powerful mage to have ever hailed from this village.

Akko collected the Winter Feather, one of the four rarest forging materials in this world, the others being the Spring Feather, the Summer Feather, and the Autumn Feather.

Despite her, rather justified, frustration regarding Akko's nonchalance about the details of their quest earlier, Diana did admit that the rewards were, in Akko's words, "pretty sweet."

As soon as they had secured these rewards, Akko and Diana retreated to the temporary lodgings the village had provided them for the night.

While Diana immediately went upstairs to get changed into her nightdress, Akko chose to sit down on the couch downstairs after removing the gauntlets from her hands and putting the Chlaiom Solais away.

She looked at her spoils of the day: the Winter Feather and a Shadow Scale.

While she wasn't expecting to run into a Shadow Dragon today, Akko was very glad that the both of them did. She _was_ already intending to go searching for a Shadow Scale. What had happened today saved her quite a bit of time, as finding enough shadow monsters that would combine together to create it was really hard… and that ignores how stupidly rare the chances of the item dropping was.

Given a moment alone, Akko took out an equipment material recipe card the priestess of forgery gave her and began marking off the materials she had just acquired today.

"Akko?"

Akko jumped and quickly stuffed the recipe back into her pocket. She hadn't expected Diana to come downstairs for her so soon.

Once the card was secured, Akko turned around, a smile immediately forming on her face. She saw Diana standing at the foot of the stairs. Her long blonde hair was just a little messy, a few tiny strands out of place, as it cascaded down her thin, light blue night dress.

"Hey Diana," Akko greeted, her smile widening as she admired just how pretty her partner was. "Didn't expect to see you down here… Honestly thought I'd be sleeping on the couch after earlier today."

Diana chuckled before walking up behind the couch and sliding her arms over Akko's shoulders. She rested her head atop Akko's and smiled.

"You probably would be if sleeping together with you wasn't so comfortable." Diana mumbled in jest, nuzzling against the smooth feel of Akko's hair. "Would you really have been fine if I asked you to sleep on the couch tonight?"

Akko leaned into Diana's hold, bringing a hand up to where Diana's had interlocked together.

"Probably not…" Akko admitted, "I'd probably sneak into bed while you tossed and turned. And then you'd let me sleep in the bed anyway."

"That sounds about right." Diana smiled against the crown of Akko's head. "May I ask you a question Akko?"

"Yeah Diana?"

"Why are we accepting so many side quests?"

Akko peeked up at her partner… her lover and smiled.

"Cause I like making people happy of course."

Diana smiled, the simple innocence of her lover's answer always warming her heart, though it could never fully quieted the nagging in the back of her mind.

"But Akko, what of the people whose lives are put in danger every day that evil is allowed to remain alive?"

"You know that thing's focused on beefing up its fortress." Akko laughed. "They haven't attacked anyone since we destroyed their seventh fortress two weeks ago."

"Should we not end this before they have the time to shore up their defenses?" Diana asked.

"Maybe… but I doubt they'll be able to do anything the two of us can't break through." Akko smiled, which quickly became more wistful. "Besides… I'm not sure I'm okay with us going up there so soon… We barely got out of the last fight with one of the evil things alive."

Diana smiled softly, taking a hand to cup Akko's cheek.

"True… I would prefer we be more prepared than we were then…" Diana agreed. "I would hate to see you in so much pain ever again."

"You and me both Diana…" Akko muttered, bringing her hand up to meet the hand Diana had pressed against her cheek. "I was scared I wouldn't make it in time with the _Leyonne_ spell."

Diana held Akko closer, hearing a hollow, somber tone from the brunette's voice.

"But you did…" Diana comforted. "You always did, and you always do."

Akko smiled.

"Have I ever told you you're the best partner ever?" Akko mumbled.

"You have… but I never hate being reminded of it." Diana laughed.

Akko continued leaning into Diana's touch, loving how the reserved archer held onto her with such love and care.

She did have to hold back laughter when she felt the archer slowly begin to droop onto her head, her breaths becoming more deep and steady.

"Hey, Diana, hey," Akko patted the archer's hand.

"Hmm?" Diana sleepily hummed.

"Come on, go to bed. You shouldn't sleep standing up like this."

"This is more comfortable than sleeping alone…" Diana mumbled, refusing to let go of Akko.

"I know, but I'll go up there soon." Akko said. "I just need to check on my armor and equipment."

"Fine." Diana muttered. "But if you are not up there in five minutes, you will wish you could sleep alone on the couch."

Akko shuddered but agreed.

She smiled as she watched Diana's night gown sway with each one of Diana's steps, as the blonde lazily walked to and up the stairs.

Once she was sure she would be undisturbed, at least for five more minutes, Akko took out the recipe again. With a pen, she marked off the Shadow Scale and the Winter Feather she had received today.

"Nice, now all that's left is the Summer Feather and the Mystic Rose. Then it'll finally be complete."

Akko grinned as she looked at the equipment recipe in her hand. A recipe for their world's strongest equipment: the Mage's Ring. It was a ring that increased its wielder's resistance to all kinds of magic damage to a ridiculous degree.

When combined with the blessings of the seven deities, it would allow the wielder near invulnerability against most magical attacks, especially those of dark magic.

It also had the added bonus of looking really, really pretty.

Once made, Akko could give it to Diana. If her partner were willing, she hoped it could become an engagement ring of sorts… perhaps even their wedding ring. The both of them _had_ talked about what they planned to do once their quest was done, and neither of them had any intention of being apart.

However, if things didn't work out like she hoped, she'd still want Diana to have the ring. At least then Akko would finally be comfortable enough leading the final attack, finishing her mission as the wielder of the Chlaiom Solais.

She never really cared about what might happen to herself… just owning her sacred blade gave her a stupid level of resistance against the likes of dark magic.

But Diana was not as lucky…

She was skilled, way more skilled than Akko had ever hoped to be. The blonde even walked across a room of raining arrows and somehow came out completely unscathed.

However… Diana was still vulnerable, and their last fortress invasion was a grim reminder of that fact. The sickly pale look on the blonde's face before Akko had managed to come and heal her nearly broke the brunette… She still sometimes had nightmares about all the what-ifs.

Whenever Akko thought of the final fortress, she was always terrified of the slight chance that she'd be unable to save Diana with _Leyonne_ if the unthinkable happened. She had come _so_ close to losing her when fighting the last evil boss… and the final fortress was sure to be full of much stronger, scarier enemies.

But with this ring, nothing would even be capable of hurting Diana.

Absolutely nothing.

"Akko! If you are not up here in thirty seconds, I will make sure that the entirety of our blanket is wrapped around me, leaving none for you." Diana threatened from the bedroom. "We both know how terrible you are with the cold."

"Oh no," Akko's eyes widened as she shoved the recipe back into her pocket and shook off her boots, "I can't sleep without a blanket… Diana you better not!"

"You have ten seconds Akko!"

"Okay, Okay," Akko panicked, jumping off of the couch and racing up the stairs. "I'm comiiing! Pleeease let me use the blanket!"

* * *

 **Toootally inspired by the fact I saw fanart of a Fantasy AU LWA.**

 **I'm sure we've all been there, playing an rpg... and not killing the final boss until we get the most broken equipment/complete all the sidequests. I just needed a somewhat legitimate reason, and the latter part of this is what I came up with.**

 **Considering this is like, endgame... and was written as such (like a one off at the end of a story that is not written), the two have had a whoole adventure's worth of time together, so this has a few backstories and things in my head. Example, they spent weeks trying to track down a thing that could possess people. Diana wound up getting possessed, and subsequently freed thanks to Akko, and after that they stayed by each other's side 24/7 as a safety measure till they killed it. But then they got really used to sleeping by each other for safety, comfort, and warmth that it felt really weird without the other.**

 **Also the Chlaiom Solais is a cheat weapon.**

 **Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed~**


	7. Chapter 7

**Day 7: Free Day**

 **... I doubled up on cuddles. And it's short~ I hope that's alright!**

* * *

Diana woke up to the sound of soft breaths and quiet hums.

She considered getting out of bed for a moment, but the thought quickly melted away as she re-registered the warm embrace surrounding her. She closed her eyes and smiled, sinking into the warm comfort that enwrapped her.

And then she opened her eyes again, hearing a soft grunt replace the quiet hum.

She looked behind her and saw Akko's face scrunched up, her eyes shut tight. It appeared that a single ray of light had sneaked in through their curtains, shining brightly on the brunette's face.

Well that simply wouldn't do.

Sure Diana found the sight adorable, but it was clearly causing her wife discomfort.

Reluctantly, Diana carefully removed Akko's arm from atop her, delicately turned the brunette onto her back, and slowly got out of bed. She walked up to the window and closed the curtain, cutting off any offending light that could even hope to disturb Akko's sleep.

She turned back to her bed and saw the brunette's face beginning to relax, the signs of tension ebbing away. She chuckled as she heard Akko slowly begin to snore softly.

Her attention was then focused on her side of the bed, the one she left empty to close the curtains. Akko's arm laid there, inviting her back in.

She considered it. After all, the only thing she had planned to do was call Luna Nova to double check that everything would be fine without her for the day. And she only had planned to make the call at 8:00 a.m.

Curious of the time, Diana turned to the clock on their nightstand.

8:30 a.m.

Diana sighed and shook her head in amusement.

They may have gotten better at it recently, but they still occasionally had trouble waking up together on time. They'd been late for work on multiple occasions because of this…

It was a good thing Diana had already informed Professor Ursula of hers and Akko's planned day off... Now just to make sure that everything would be perfectly fine without her.

The blonde picked up the cordless phone from their nightstand and walked out into the hallway, dialing a familiar number.

" _Hello? Diana?"_

"Good morning Professor Ursula. I just called as a reminder that Akko and I will be taking the day off. I have already finished the paperwork that needed to be done today, and I ensured that Akko's classes had nothing planned except for a study hall period."

" _Ahh, yes, everything is fine. Akko must be really exhausted after last night._ "

"That is correct." Diana peeked into the bedroom and saw Akko mumbling something in her sleep and extending both arms into the air before promptly flopping back onto the bed with a groan. "She is still sleeping."

Diana heard a chuckle from the other side of the call.

 _"That sounds about right. Three encore performances really tires someone out. Akko certainly goes all out. I bet she hadn't expected that many people to show up to, and enjoy, her very first show._ "

Diana giggled, recalling both the excited twinkle in Akko's eyes in the beginning of the show and the way the brunette all but collapsed onto her at the end of the show.

"She was absolutely astonished last night. Gleeful as well, but honestly almost overwhelmed. I am not quite sure exactly why she had not expected such a large crowd though. She is not exactly a low profile witch."

" _She'd gone down in witch history books as the restorer of magic._ " Chariot chuckled.

"Not the mention she had the backings of both the Cavendish family _and_ the Hanbridge family.. _and_ it was the tenth anniversary of the Grand Triskelion's unsealing. She was bound to attract a large crowd, even if it were a closing act for an open Luna Nova festival." Diana smiled. "… Anyway, I do not believe there should be any issue if we were to take the day off? I was hoping to-"

" _Diana, you're the headmistress. I wouldn't have the authority to stop you if I wanted to_."

"And everything should be fine with my absence?"

" _I am sure Professor Finnelan, Croix, and I can handle a day without our headmistress."_

Diana rolled her eyes.

"Have a good day Professor Ursula."

" _I hope you and Akko have one as well, Headmistress_ "

With a click, Diana ended the call, walked back into their bedroom, put the phone back on the nightstand, and sat by the edge of the bed.

She turned to her wife and laughed. Akko's mouth was wide open, with a trail of drool dripping from the corner. Her arms were clumsily bent and stretched out on their bed. Her hair was a mess, with strands of hair sticking out all over the place. Tresses of chestnut hair covered her face, some of it threatening to enter her mouth.

It was truly a perfect sight.

With a warm smile on her face, Diana softly pushed Akko's hair off to the side, giving the Cavendish head a better view of her wife's face. She then moved her hand upwards and softly brushed Akko's bangs to the side, admiring the soft feeling of hair against her fingers and the touch of Akko's forehead beneath her fingertips.

She instantly pulled away when she heard a tired grunt escape Akko's lips.

"Hmm, why'd you stop?" Akko grumbled, her voice hoarse. "It felt nice."

Diana smiled, her cheeks turning pink at the adorable sight of Akko's sleepy pout, her bottom lip just slightly jutted out.

Ten years together and Akko could still do this to her by doing absolutely nothing.

"I did not mean to wake you."

Akko slowly sat up and yawned.

"It's fiiine, we have to get up anyway… What time is it?"

Diana chuckled. Guess she forgot to tell Akko they had the day off.

"It is 8:45 a.m."

Eight fort- EIGHT FORTY FIVE?!" Akko's eyes shot open, her fingers gripping the soft blanket on her lap. "DIANA! WE'RE GOING TO BE LA-"

Diana quickly quieted Akko with a kiss, cupping the brunette's face and pushing her down onto the bed until Akko eventually melted. They both closed their eyes as they took in the softness against each other's lips.

When Diana separated from Akko, she giggled at the dazed look in the brunette's red eyes and goofy smile on her face.

When Akko came to, she immediately whined, both from the loss of contact... and from thinking they didn't have the time to keep doing this.

"Dianaaa, that's not fair. You can't expect me to get up if you do that to meeeee. You said it would be bad if we were late again." Akko complained, though she made no real attempt to get out of bed.

Diana grinned, brushing her thumb against Akko's soft cheek.

"Akko, we have the day off today."

Akko blinked.

Then she stared up blankly at Diana.

"We do?"

That _was_ the first she'd heard of it.

"That is correct. You worked extremely hard last night. It was a truly wondrous and spectacular show." Diana said, softly looking into Akko's eyes. "I believed you earned a reward... a day off if you will."

"Ooh! Then this is my reward… but wait shouldn't you still go though?" Akko asked shyly. "I mean, you're the headmistress and all… I'm sure you have a lot of work that you need to do."

Diana shook her head and pressed a kiss onto Akko's nose.

"I did all of those yesterday. I am quite confident that Professors Ursula, Croix, and Finnelan can take care of anything that occurs today. I took the liberty of giving us both the day off today."

Akko sat right back up, face just inches away from Diana's.

"OH! Does that mean?"

"I am all yours for today," Diana answered. "It is your day, after all. We can do whatever you want."

Akko pumped both her fists into the air, yelling out a loud "Yay!" for the world to hear.

"Then I know what I want to do first~" Akko grinned.

Diana looked at Akko curiously.

"Oh, what would that be?"

Akko gave Diana a soft smile, before quickly wrapping her arms around the blonde, the brunette's fingers playing with the fabric of the blonde's sky blue night gown. She pulled them both back down to the bed and rubbed their cheeks together.

"More sleeping time!" Akko giggled.

Diana tried to roll her eyes, but she couldn't stop the way her heart began to flutter and thump as she felt Akko's warm and soft cheek against her own.

"Is that all you really wish to do today? … Not that I mind…" Diana muttered bashfully, her cheeks reddening as her heart hammered against her chest.

"Well, if I think of anything else I want to do, I'll be sure to tell you, buuuuut… we don't get that many days without any work so right now I want nothing more than to sleep in with my beautiful wife~" Akko laughed as she booped Diana's nose. "Any complaints?"

Diana's heart flipped when she felt Akko's touch upon her nose. She quickly hid her scarlet red face into Akko's red long-sleeve pajamas.

She then shook her head.

She had no complaints whatsoever.

After all, Akko had just reached the dream she had been aiming for since she was a little girl.

Akko had put on a show for thousands… that could possibly be seen by millions. And the show was possibly the most spectacular display of magic she'd seen since the both of them unlocked the Grand Triskelion.

In a way, Diana could argue it was even more grand than the Shiny Chariot show that inspired them both in the first place. She knew Akko would probably not agree with her. The girl was proud of who she was and her abilities, but she was always quite modest when it came to her accomplishments. Not to mention, they both still adored the Shiny Chariot shows.

It just so happened Diana found another show she adored just a little bit more. Or a lot more.

And really, if all Akko, the woman she loved and adored, wanted after accomplishing all of that was sleeping together with her… well who could possibly refuse such a simple request?

Certainly not Diana, who was absolutely loving this moment.

Akko giggled as she felt Diana's blonde hair tickling her neck and chin.

"Well, I guess we can keep cuddling then?"

The blonde nodded, a smile on her face.

Akko grinned as she held her wife ever closer, more dearly.

Sure, maybe the both of them _could_ go out.

But, honestly, Akko was still really sleepy from the previous night. She had performed far more magic in such a short amount of time than she had ever done before, feats with the Shiny Rod notwithstanding.

Besides… what could be better than curling up in bed together with the person she loved most in the world?

* * *

 **Honestly just wanted to end off Dianakko week with something short, sweet, and relaxing to write, especially since I was kinda drawing blanks lol.**

 **Also I doubled up on cuddles cause I really enjoy the softer, quieter things in fics. I hope the fact that it's probably my shortest piece is okay.**

 **In all honesty, I can say I have been drowned in fluff. I am dead now. I am a ghost.**

 **All seriousness though, thanks to everyone who took the time to read my stuff~ It means a lot!**

 **Hope you had a good Dianakko week~ I know I did! (I still needa catch up on reading some fics I missed out on)**


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